


To be free (to live and love)

by TheCrazyFriend



Series: To Be Free [1]
Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Ahsoka Tano Needs a Hug, Barriss Offee Needs a Hug, Better Than Canon, F/F, Post-Episode: s05e20 The Wrong Jedi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-14
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:15:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 11
Words: 37,273
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23647555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheCrazyFriend/pseuds/TheCrazyFriend
Summary: AU!! (Though mostly canon compliant) set during and after Clone Wars s5e20: The Wrong Jedi"Ahsoka Tano captured! While on the run to prove her innocence, Padawan Tano teamed up with the deadly Asajj Ventress to find the rogue Jedi who framed Ahsoka for murder. The Jedi Council sent Anakin Skywalker and Master Plo Koon to track Ahsoka down and bring her back to the Temple.Now captured and imprisoned, Ahsoka faces punishment for crimes she did not commit...."
Relationships: Barriss Offee/Ahsoka Tano, Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker
Series: To Be Free [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1856494
Comments: 110
Kudos: 63





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> My first Star wars fic!! I hope to fix some of the horrific oversights of The Clone Wars. Yes, this fic is endgame Barrissoka with past unrequited Ahsoka/Lux. Not sure how this'll go as I only really have the key points for this fic. And yes I'm lazy enough to use the narrated intro to The Wrong Jedi
> 
> Trigger warnings include: self-harm, suicidal ideation, spice usage, possibly death stick usage, almost certainly graphic violence.

The eyes of the young Padawan Learner opened suddenly with an inhaled gasp and a strangled cry of horror, the young woman had endured repetitive nightmares of the same scene that slowly became more and more vivid since the initiation of her plot. The Padawan spent several moments gazing wildly around the room, her ears still full of mechanical breathing and the lingering pain from being struck across the face by the tip of a meter long rod of plasma, from the bottom of the left side of her jaw to just in front of her right ear not even missing her eye. The words the machine, for it was hard to hear the man behind the machine, uttered before striking her across the face terrified the Padawan. “ _By failing to bring me Fulcrum's head, again, you have failed me for the last time, First Sister. For your failure, your suffering will be exquisite_ ”

Once she had calmed down enough to be able to make sense of her environment, the young seventeen-year-old sighed a huge sigh of relief, she was in her quarters at the Jedi Temple and despite her misgivings about the Jedi Order and its military activities, she actually felt safe in her room. “Kriff” she mumbled, the coarse language not really her style and staggered out of her room, intent on visiting with her best and only friend. It was only when the Padawan buzzed to gain entry for the third time and there was no answer after a few minutes that she realized just what was going on. Ahsoka Tano, her best friend, faced death because of something that had been so easily avoidable, something she had initiated and something she wasn't so sure she could live with after all. “What’s the point in all this?” she asked herself. Using the force to open the door to Ahsoka’s room, she slowly advanced into the abandoned, dark room since its former owner was gone, being held in a high-security Grand Army cell somewhere in a Republic military base, either that or already on her way to her trial since she had left her Chrono in her room. Several knick-knacks that she had given to Ahsoka on her previous lifedays remained clearly visibly among the very few keepsakes the Jedi Padawan kept. “Oh, force...” The young woman had to cover her mouth to stifle the sobs as she reached out for the bracelet she had purchased the components for and assembled herself to give to the other Padawan and it jumped into her hand from where Ahsoka had put it before going on the run. “Ahsoka... I'm...”

Barriss Offee, Padawan to Jedi Master Luminara Unduli, was a traitor. A few standard weeks back, she had put into motion a plot that would hit the Jedi order hard, a plot to bomb one of the war-oriented areas of the Jedi Temple, the massive hanger complex and it had succeeded, destroying a portion of the hanger and killing eight clones, twelve civilians and six Jedi without differentiation between them. One of the Jedi had even been a former friend of the Mirialan Padawan but she had been able to accept his loss as 'the will of the force’. She had later stolen the lightsabers of and framed former Sith Acolyte Asajj Ventress and fellow Padawan Ahsoka Tano as co-conspirators to cover up her involvement in the crimes against her people and the Republic. Her plot was going so well that the Jedi Council had jumped on the first possible culprit they were offered, the overenthusiastic and eager Togrutan Padawan who was immediately expelled from the order without so much as being allowed to voice her own side of the story and thrown under the speeder by her former allies. Her former best friend had been taken into custody by the Grand Army of the Republic and was facing execution. As such, the Mirialan Padawan curled up on Ahsoka’s unused bed and cried, she just cried.

*****

Four hours later  
Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi sat in his spot on the Jedi Council, thinking about how despondent the young Togruta had become in contrast to how enthusiastically she had been proclaiming her innocence to anyone that was within hearing range; the Jedi Council who decided her fate, the clones who took her away from her home, the Jedi she was dragged past on her way out, kriff even the Supreme Chancellor himself. He was surrounded by friends and other Masters, all of whom had been exceedingly fast to accept his former apprentice’s Padawan as the culprit of the crimes against the order. Obi-Wan, ever the cautious strategist, was still rather reserved. The only person who truly didn't believe the despondent Togrutan was responsible for the heinous crime against the Order was Anakin, the headstrong Knight that was dashing hither and thither to try to find out who was truly behind the plot once he had been forced to recapture his wayward Padawan.

“Master Kenobi. A lot on your mind you do have” Yoda spoke as he sat on his tiny little seat  
Dislodged from his silent contemplation by the diminutive Jedi Grand Master’s words, the human master lifted his head, looking toward the master who had spoken “hmmm? Oh sorry, Master”  
“Tell us what is bothering you, you must” the elderly Master smiled encouragingly  
“Well, Master. As you know my former Padawan is charging around Coruscant trying to find what he calls ‘ _the true perpetrators_ ' of the temple bombing”  
“Hmm, troubling, that boy’s enthusiasm is. Single-minded he has become. Proving the innocence of his Padawan, obsessed he is”  
“I just can't understand it. Ahsoka Tano, Jedi terrorist?” Obi-Wan replied calmly, remembering how the Jedi had refused to help him save someone he cared about, Satine. Satine was the former Duchess of Mandalore who had died at the hands of the former Darth Maul while Obi-Wan was powerless to stop it. He was fearful that it was happening again, that the Jedi were turning their back on innocents, made even worse by them turning their backs on one of their own  
“Meditate on this you must. Cruel we are not. The Dark Side, clouds our judgment it does”  
“You can't be saying that _Tano_ isn't guilty” the dark-skinned human Master Mace Windu interjected, almost spitting the name of the former Padawan. “All the evidence points to her. She killed her co-conspirator Letta Turmond, she was covered in trace amounts of the nanobombs used in the attack and she escaped custody later to be found in the exact place where the explosives were hidden”  
“Saying that I am not, patience we must have”

“Yea well while you're showing your patience, my Padawan is on a path to getting executed!!” Another voice barked. Obi-Wan rested his head in his hands, it was only a matter of time before Anakin stormed the Council chambers unannounced even before the Council decided to hand off his Padawan to people who wouldn't hesitate to kill her.  
“Anakin...” Obi-Wan groaned in exasperation, frustrated by just how aggressive he could be toward even the leaders of the Jedi  
“It wasn't her,” Anakin growled with complete conviction  
“Skywalker, you cannot...” Mace Windu began  
“Shut the kriff up!” Anakin snapped, shocking Mace Windu into silence for once, the secondmost senior Jedi could be rather cold and heartless at times yet still had enough emotion in him to fuel Vaapad, a lightsaber form of his own creation that needed one to enjoy the fight and become a conduit for anger and the Dark Side. “She’s _not_ guilty. And what's even better is I know who _is_ ” Anakin sounded _smug_ as he spoke, he had been right after all and it would take him a long, long time to forgive the Jedi Council for their part in Ahsoka’s struggle  
“Who?” Obi-wan prompted before Windu pushed Anakin into a complete rage.  
“All will be revealed at the trial” Anakin spoke coldly, reeling in the fury he felt at the group of insidiously heartless individuals before him then left the room. _What exactly is the difference between the Jedi and the Sith when the Jedi are so heartless and rash?_ he contemplated as he left the council chambers to head to the Senate building to be there ready for the trial

*****

“Senator Amidala?” The young Togruta asked as a brunette stepped through the suddenly deactivated shield over the doorway to get into the cell  
“Yes, Ahsoka?” the former queen come senator replied, a gentle smile on her face at the sight of the Togrutan girl who would _finally_ be safe. She didn't know why she had been given the assignment, especially since the Supreme Chancellor didn't know of it, but she knew it was of the utmost importance to succeed, she trusted the person who had given it to her after all  
“What are you doing here? The trial isn't due to start for another few hours” the Togruta’s confused expression hadn't eased off  
“I'm taking you into protective custody, Ahsoka” The senator led Ahsoka out of the cell, past the guards who watched silently and on to a shuttle that was guarded by members of the 501st

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **To come (in no particular order):**  
>  “Someone has threatened your life, Ahsoka”  
>  “Who?”  
>  “I don't know”
> 
> **
> 
> “I'm sorry for everything the Jedi did to you, everything I did to you”  
>  “Barriss, calm down. Please”  
>  “I just wanted to apologize before we go our own separate ways”
> 
> **
> 
> “I am fed up of being your plaything, master”  
>  “Sit the kark down you pathetic little girl”  
>  “E Chu ta”
> 
> **
> 
> “Ahsoka! Ahsoka! AHSOKA, NOOOO!!”
> 
> **
> 
> “B-Barriss?! You're still alive?!”
> 
> **
> 
> “You're gonna rue the day you took me as your plaything, for I am not someone to be toyed with” the figure stood slowly, her eyes a burning yellow instead of their normal blue
> 
> **
> 
> “Oh no... Not you, please, not you”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **  
>  The truth shall set me free   
>  **
> 
> **Traitors amongst the Jedi! Anakin Skywalker's Padawan Learner, Ahsoka Tano is charged with sedition against the Jedi Order. However, a mysterious transmission may serve to save Ahsoka from her fate!!**  
>  Anakin's wife, Senator Padme Amidala has been sent in to take Ahsoka into protective custody...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Fourth of May.

“Senator Amidala, excuse my language but what the _kriff_?” Ahsoka had been led out of the maximum security, solitary confinement block and was following the Senator down the very same long corridor that she had followed in her escape attempt, the only difference being the lack of Clone Trooper bodies that had littered the way out the last time she had attempted to leave. Troopers that she had been blamed for the murder of, somehow, regardless of the fact that she didn't have any weapon while in the command building, at least not before she had gotten closer to the exit  
“Please be patient, Padawan Tano” the Senator replied, all her regality brought to bear on the teen following her and at that moment she wasn't the kind and gentle woman who had known Ahsoka for much of her time being a Padawan but the indomitable Queen who refused to let her people suffer for even one more second of Trade Federation rule, the Queen who had stood before the Gungans proud and without fear for, though there were exceptions, the Gungans were a fearsome and respected warrior race with a proud history and a pseudo-antagonistic relationship with the Naboo. She was the motivated and single-minded Senator who had been trapped in a Separatist laboratory and infected with a deadly virus that meant she only had a few scant hours to live but hadn't given up, not even for a second. She was the deadly combatant of several war zones, of which Theed and Geonosis were the two most prominent examples where she not only survived, she _thrived_. In those moments, Ahsoka understood just how the former Queen had succeeded where almost all others would’ve collapsed under the pressure  
“Okay!” Ahsoka squeaked out, she may have been able to throw huge boulders around with her Force abilities, slice up hundreds of battle droids singlehandedly and go up against the likes of Asajj Ventress and General Grievous but she found the former Queen intimidating all the same. Moments later, Ahsoka blinked under the daylight that they stepped through the massive blast doors into, hurrying to keep up with the Senator who hadn't stopped to give Ahsoka a chance to get used to the sun that was shining down upon them and half blinding the Togruta after her extended stay in the Coruscanti underlevels and in a cell. After a few seconds of shielding her face, Ahsoka rushed out, catching up with the older Senator despite her legs being a lot shorter than the human's. Her ability to catch up was mostly thanks to the improved stamina of being a member of a species that was an apex predator and a Jedi with access to the mystical Force. 

Awaiting them on the landing pad outside the base was a contingent of helmetless Clone Troopers in their white armor. She recognized them regardless, the Togrutan Padawan would always be able to recognize those she had fought alongside even if they were suddenly to forgo their blue. After a few moments during which she was to startled to pay too closer attention, she realized they had indeed forgone their famous blue. She hadn't noticed it immediately but their helmets had a new design, one that the Togruta was intimately familiar with and their LAAT/i had also been repainted a beautiful shade of orange. “Ateeeeen shuuuun!!” one of the men cried before Ahsoka could get a closer look at the gunship.  
All the Troopers snapped to attention and saluted the Togrutan Padawan with the one who called for attention stepping forward to smile at the young Togruta. “Commander” another man spoke from behind.  
“We’re with you, Commander” _Kix_  
“I can't believe they've done this to you, Commander” _Coric_  
“This is just wrong” _Hawk_  
“Kriffing show trial” _Tup_. Ahsoka's heart swelled with each declaration of support from the men she had served alongside and she was finding it more and more difficult to contain her emotions, happiness that she still had the loyalty of the men she served with but also despair at how her image and reputation across the galaxy would be in tatters because of something she didn't do regardless of whether she was cleared or not  
“Wait til we find out who actually did this, they'll fekking pay. I promise you” _Fives_  
“How the kark did this happen?!” _Appo_. 

A chorus of voices, all the same yet very slightly different called out in a clamor to get the attention of the young Togrutan ex-Jedi, speaking out not only against whoever planned the bombing but also those who stood by and watched as someone who took the blame for something that it was literally almost impossible to blame them for if the evidence was to be looked at properly. It was a mystery to the Troopers just how Tarkin and the Jedi Council had gotten it into their heads that Ahsoka was somehow the one responsible for the heinous crimes she was accused of since she had been off-world prior to the bombing. They had left three days before the bombing to travel to and prep for the battle then were called back almost immediately after the bombing since they were the least likely to be the culprits and least likely to be responsible on the basis of them not really having had much time at the Temple. Before being called away to Cato Neimoidia, they had been on Coruscant for less than a day before they were called away again and to add to Ahsoka's watertight alibi she and her men had endured a lengthy and grueling campaign in the Outer Rim that had lasted months before their brief, thirteen-hour visit to Coruscant. Ahsoka and Anakin were supposed to be on leave for at least a week but Cato Neimoidia was considered to be a crisis so they had to rush off to war once again without a break or any downtime at all. 

“Easy, boys” the senator spoke calmly and steadily despite being furious herself over what was happening around her. The Chancellor was grabbing power whenever he could, Anakin was getting more and more stressed and despondent from the endless grind of the war, Jar Jar Binks had gone against everything their home planet Naboo stood for when he proposed 'moi moi emergency powers' for the Supreme Chancellor, the Republic were slowly crushing the Secessionist Movement and, finally the Jedi and Senate turned their backs on Anakin's Padawan Learner who was like a daughter to both Anakin and the Senator. “You all know why we’re here, now let’s get moving, shall we?”  
The troopers responded by saluting and forming an honor guard around Ahsoka and the Senator. “We’re with you all the way Ma'am”  
“Commander!!” another not quite identical voice called out to the young Togruta, one she would always recognize since he had so often provided comfort to his Commander whenever she needed it, from that very first battle at Christophsis when she was coming down from her adrenaline-induced high, when she had been sobbing alone without support after the Blue Shadow Virus incident, after she had very nearly been killed by her friend; Barriss Offee and the poor girl had begged Ahsoka, a teenager, to kill her, another teenager before she killed anyone else. After the bloodshed that had been Umbara when she had almost lost Rex and all her men due to the actions of that bastard Krell, he had been there for her when her Master wasn’t and when he was. She had even slept in with the Troopers on occasion after the particularly harrowing experiences, the brain worm incident was the most prominent for various reasons. None of those actions were the actions of a girl who could lift a blade and hack her own allies apart a mere few hours after enjoying a spot of Grav-Ball with their brothers.  
“Rex!!” Ahsoka cried back, walking even quicker toward the gunship, more eager to reunite with her friend than any of the others  
“I'm glad to see you, Ahsoka, my Vod'ika.” The man who was usually so serious had a huge grin on his face. It had been a common worry among the Vod'e of the Five-Oh-First that they wouldn't ever see their Commander again since the severity of the crimes she was accused of had been combined with what they considered to be a shoddy trial with even worse ‘evidence’ in a lethal mix that could have so easily resulted in the death of their Commander. The Clone Captain smiled, pulling Ahsoka in for a hug once she had leaped up into the troop area of the gunship while turning to speak to the Senator. “Have you told her yet, Ma’am?” he asked  
“No, let's just get outta here first” she replied, giving the man a solid withering glare that could have scared off a rancor. The older woman stepped up into the craft with Ahsoka by her side, followed by the men who crammed themselves into the gunship to help protect their Commander. Moments later the gunship whirred into action, lifting up off of the landing pad under the watchful eye of Fox, whom half the assembled Troopers glared at murderously for accusing their Commander of capital crimes and for his part in her capture. 

Once the gunship was in the air, the Senator and Rex both dropped to their knees in a blatant disregard for protocol. Rex placed his hand on Ahsoka's shoulder, a gentle smile on his face while the Senator pulled Ahsoka into a warm, enveloping hug. “Oh Ahsoka, you poor thing. I'm so glad we got to you in time!!”  
“Got to me... In time?” the poor Togruta was so confused by the words, almost as confused as to how they had pulled her out of the Grand Army's Central Command facility despite the severity of her purported crimes  
“Yes” the older woman paused, looking around nervously, aware that the Troopers all had identical scowls set on their faces. “Someone threatened your life, Ahsoka”  
“Who?” the Togruta asked, already having a suspicion as to who it was who had asked her to be taken into protective custody, the person who would trust Padme Amidala beyond all others, the only person who cared enough and who would trust only her to ensure the safety of the vulnerable Togruta.  
“I don't know” the Senator replied with a sigh. “But I trust the person who told me your life was in danger, he was very adamant”  
“It was Anakin who asked for the protective custody, wasn't it?” Ahsoka deadpanned, triggering a couple snickers from the Troopers. Anakin and his wife really weren't anywhere near as subtle as they thought and Ahsoka was amazed that the Jedi Council hadn't yet gotten the hints to what was going on, with Anakin's frequent absconding from the Temple whenever he was on Coruscant always making it blindingly obvious for anyone who was actually paying attention  
The older woman looked around for a moment, all the Troopers finding the metal plating of the gunship incredibly fascinating all of a sudden and nodded. “You can call me Padme, Ahsoka. No need to stand on formalities, we are _friends_ after all” she admitted quietly since it was obvious that all the Troopers knew about them and were pretending not to be paying any attention. _Family_

“Padme, what's going on?” Ahsoka eventually plucked up the courage to ask the question after a few strained moments of awkward silence  
“Early this morning, my... Friend” she settled on that explanation after a few moments, if they didn't explicitly say it then there was plausible deniability still but there was another round of snickers all the same. “My friend found a pad with an anonymous recording, threatening your life. He asked me to take you into protective custody while he investigated the pad”  
“Where are we going then?”  
“My ship. It's diplomatically immune so it'll get us off Coruscant” Padme replied immediately, she had been expecting the question ever since the gunship had taken off  
“I can't ask you to do that” Ahsoka mumbled warily. The only people who could overrule a Senator’s immunity in the Senate were either the Chancellor or the Vice-Chancellor, the two people who had authority over the Senators and Ahsoka knew that. She also knew that Padme would be risking her career as a Senator or even her life if she was found to be providing refuge to a traitor.  
“Did you bomb the temple?” Padme asked, she had prepared herself for the inevitable resistance and shot it down with a single question  
“What?! _No_!! Of _course_ I didn't!” Ahsoka shrieked in distress  
“Then I believe you. Therefore I'm acting to prevent a miscarriage of justice”

Ahsoka attempted to open her mouth to argue once again but Rex squeezed her shoulder reassuringly and she sighed. “Fine” the young adult truly hadn’t expected to come out of that mess alive so was still reeling with everything that had happened. _Kark. It's only been three rotations_  
“Let's go, Ahsoka”  
“I just want to talk to the Jedi for a few moments, can I please?”  
“No, I'm afraid you can't” Padme shook her head, she had good reason to limit all of Ahsoka's communications, strictly speaking, they were going under the radar to get her out, not even the Supreme Chancellor was aware that they were doing so  
“But I can pass on a message, once you're cleared” Rex offered as a compromise. The Jedi most likely wouldn't be all that receptive of what she had to say until she was cleared, either that or they'd lump her in with others Force-sensitives that hadn’t served the Jedi; Ventress, or who had left; Dooku, or who had betrayed everything that they had served for; Krell. She would be classed as a Fallen Jedi, a Darksider, a Sith, their orders would change accordingly from stun and apprehend to shoot on sight and Rex couldn't allow them to do that to her. No, he'd wait and then tell them she'd talked to him since she was cleared and told him to tell them anything she had to say, he was quietly hopeful that she would leave the Jedi but he wasn't certain she would  
“Fine, will you please tell those _fekking_ sleemos that I _quit_!” the normally fiery but kind and caring Togruta _spat_ in utter disgust  
“I can do that, Ahsoka” Rex vowed, his heart rate spiking in excitement. He didn't want to see his Commander leave him and their men but he also couldn't help but feel relief that Ahsoka wasn't taking the Council’s shit anymore. The Jedi were the ones in the wrong, Ahsoka had given them nothing but loyal service for over seventeen years without any trouble at all. Sure, she and her Master were unorthodox and unpredictable but they served the Grand Army loyally and no other legion had their success rate precisely because they were so unorthodox, but how were seventeen years of service repaid? With being tossed aside as less than garbage to be executed at the first opportunity. Rex and his Vod'e knew their commander better than the Council, he knew that Ahsoka would never kill her men, her Vod'e like she was accused of doing, both in the Temple bombing and in the Grand Army’s Command Center and to accuse her of doing so had completely rejected everything that Ahsoka was. Even if she was cleared and she chose to stay with an Order where she would remain under that sort of suspicion, with all the associated stigma that came from such a label, he suspected that she may well actually fall. Rex had heard a few Jedi talk about Ahsoka, never mentioning her by name and referring to her as _The Fallen_ or _The Traitor_. It broke Rex's heart a little more each time he heard it. Only her best friend Barriss reacted differently, with sorrow and, surprisingly, regret. “I swear to you I'll pass your message along” he vowed with a solemn smile but knew that she'd pick up on his relief and excitement at being able to tell the Order to stuff it  
“Thank you, Rexter. Can you apologize to Skyguy for me as well? I don't want him thinking I just abandoned him without saying goodbye” Ahsoka knew better than to ask Rex to tell Anakin not to think she abandoned him. That wouldn’t do any good, she knew he would view it as an abandonment no matter what she said therefore the only thing she could do was say goodbye. The words and meaning she wanted to express were confirmed by a wordless nod, Rex and the others knew that Ahsoka considered Anakin her father but they couldn't openly admit it, the Jedi didn't tolerate attachments after all  
“Of course, Ahsoka” Rex smiled sadly, their time had come to an end for the gunship had touched down on whatever landing pad Padme's craft was awaiting them on. The gunship opened out and Ahsoka's men wordlessly jumped out, forming an honor guard for their Commander. 

Ahsoka gulped. The seventeen-year-old who had experienced terrible things no-one, especially no-one that young, should have endured stepped out, her hand in Padme's to help her down to the landing pad. Padme, ever the empathetic woman hadn't even had to look at Ahsoka to know just how close the girl was to bawling so had offered a hand to help her down and to gently guide her up to her ship since she couldn't see with the tears clouding her vision. “Good luck, Ahsoka, and may the Force be with you, forever” Rex spoke one last time, resting his hand on her shoulder one last time. Finally, he pulled her in for a hug, one last time.  
“May the Force be with you, Sir!!” the Troopers chanted as one, saluting their Commander. The other Troopers on the landing pad also saluted for the entire legion had turned up to ensure their Commander left safely. The men who hadn't gone to the base in the gunship had kept the Senator's ship safe from anyone who would want to stop Ahsoka from leaving, people like _Fox_.  
“May the Force be with you too, all of you” Ahsoka forced the words past the lump in her throat then stepped onto the boarding ramp and disappeared up onto the ship  
“At ease” Rex sighed, dropping to his knees while the ship completed its warm-up and takeoff procedures, disappearing off into the Coruscanti sky with a roar of engines that conveniently covered the Trooper’s aborted sob. 

Ahsoka had waited until the boarding ramp had closed before she lost control of her storm of emotions that had been roiling ever since she realized that this was it, the last time she would see any of the men. She collapsed and sobbed openly on the closed boarding ramp the moment it closed and, much to Padme’s surprise, hadn't protested when the older woman picked her up and carried her through to one of the bedrooms. Placing her down with a kiss, Padme left Ahsoka alone, she had no choice while she programmed the hyperdrive.  
Ahsoka barely responded to Padme leaving and didn't even respond when the bed behind her dropped unexpectedly beneath the weight of another body, or when two arms wrapped themselves around her. She tucked her chin into her chest more only after the other person spoke but still didn't make any effort to cease or even lessen her crying, “Oh, Ahsoka, I'm so sorry” the unexpected voice spoke softly, even more softly than they usually spoke. “I'm so sorry, Ahsoka”  
Had the unexpected person not lowered their defenses so Ahsoka could feel their presence in the Force, Ahsoka would have assumed she was hallucinating. _What?_ The Togruta still couldn’t speak but her shock was easily apparent through the Force

“I'm here, Ahsoka. You're safe. You're gonna be okay” The calming words of the new presence only served to make Ahsoka sob even harder. She had actually done it, left the Jedi, she was _free_ to choose her own path, assuming that Anakin, Ahsoka's _dad_ , could find the proof they needed to clear her name and that she wouldn't have to spend the rest of her life under Padme's protection, the person who was going to defend her in court, the woman who had decided to risk everything to protect her. Ahsoka's _mom_. “I'm here, Ahsoka” _I'm so sorry, Ahsoka. This is all my fault_.  
Ahsoka’s shoulders loosened minutely at the presence of her best friend, “B-Barriss?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> May the Force be with our girls, and us all
> 
> Stay safe:)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “ **A friend is someone who understands your past, believes in your future, and accepts you just the way you are.** ”
> 
> **Friends reunited!! Former Padawan Learner Ahsoka Tano is reunited with her best friend Barriss Offee! Barriss and Ahsoka share a heartfelt reunion but how will they react to being together again?**  
>  Fleeing Coruscant, Barriss alone knows that nothing will ever be the same again

“Oh Barriss!! Am I glad to see you!! I've had a hellish few days since I commed you!!” the orange-skinned Togruta’s emotional pain slowly lessened in the soothing and warm arms of her friend. “Barriss, what are you doing here?”  
“Hm?” much to Ahsoka's surprise, Barriss actually seemed to be distracted by something. Not once in all the years that Ahsoka had known Barriss had the older girl ever gotten half as distracted as she was at that time, “oh sorry, 'Soka, what did you say?”  
Ahsoka frowned slightly at the nickname she had been given all those years ago by someone who had stabbed her in the back and if it was anyone other than _Barriss_ using it, she probably would've made such a ruckus that Padme would have run in and shot the intruder before they had the chance to draw their own weapon. “I asked what you're doing here?”  
“Oh, well, consider me your unofficial bodyguard. The Council were in such uproar, apparently, your Master made some headway toward getting the proof of your innocence” Barriss lied, the words tasting like ash in her mouth  
Those words hit Ahsoka harder than she expected. _Innocence_ and _proof_. The former Padawan had been so terrified as everyone turned their backs on her. The Council, her friends, the man who found her, her Grandmaster, not to mention her peers and even her subordinates had left her for dead at the tender mercies of the politicians. Only her Master and Barriss had been there for her, even Ventress had turned on her all too easily. The frightened young woman took a few moments to just breathe and she was suddenly able to be what she was; a frightened, terrified, horrified young woman, barely even that, barely even a woman. The Togruta had faced countless warzones in the two years she had been on the front, faced death on many an occasion, was injured on at least a few and died once. In at least some of those situations she had felt fear, sure, but had always been able to follow the teachings of the Jedi and release it into the Force, the only problem was that the Force had no longer been accepting her emotions and hadn't been since she was attacked in the warehouse, indicating through the wrongness that was present that she needed to face those feelings and overcome them. That was something none of the Jedi had ever learned how to do, Ahsoka realized just how ironic it was that the Jedi always cautioned against the 'easier path’ as a path to the dark side and yet that was exactly what they did with their emotions, dumping them into the Force instead of facing them and overcoming them. Until Barriss showed up, Ahsoka was losing that particular battle and losing it badly but once the familiar warmth of Barriss' signature had returned, a signature that had felt ever so slightly different, slightly wilder since the last time Ahsoka had battled alongside her but was suddenly back to its original comforting familiarity, Ahsoka found herself able to dispel the shroud of fear surrounding her and face the feelings she had always released without care. She acknowledged the fear she felt and worked to overcome it. All of a sudden the _wrongness_ of the duel with Ventress hit her, for that had been when the _wrongness_ settled in over her in earnest but she had felt it briefly before that, upon the death of Letta Turmond. A familiar feeling so twisted that it felt like something entirely different. She was still far from being able to identify what the _wrongness_ was but the acknowledgment of its origins made it less daunting. “Thank you for believing in me, Barriss. Thank you for helping” Ahsoka took deep, calming breaths, _finally_ feeling able to breathe and free from the crushing anxiety that pervaded through every thought

There was an unexpected jolt and a few moments later Padme entered the bedroom to check on her young parolee, falling back with an undignified shriek as a low hum filled the room. Looking up from where she was sprawled she saw Ahsoka was still on the bed and unharmed much to her relief but a light green-skinned young woman with a blue lightsaber was stood over her protectively. “What the kriff? Barriss, stop, she's okay!! It's only the Senator!!”  
Belatedly, Padme realized that she hadn't ever met her husband’s Padawan's best friend which was most likely why her force signature caused the younger woman to freak the kark out and pull her weapon. Someone had threatened her friend after all. “Can never be too careful” Barriss replied, looking down at her best friend who had given up trying to jump to her feet and was on her knees holding Barriss' lightsaber hand to prevent her from hurting the woman sprawled on the floor  
“You must be Barriss Offee” Padme spoke for the first time after her embarrassing reaction to the shock of seeing someone with Ahsoka. She found a certain amount of relief in the fact that she hadn't gotten the chance to pull her holdout blaster out of her boot else she'd probably be dead at the hands of Ahsoka's best friend  
“I am. Padawan Learner Barriss Offee, at your service” the girl curtseyed and disengaged her lightsaber which made Padme feel a lot better. “Senator Amidala” Barriss began  
“Yes, Padawan Learner Barriss Offee?”  
“It’s just Barriss” Barriss replied with a smile, “you can call me Barriss, any friend of Ahsoka is a friend of mine”  
“Just Padme would be fine then” Padme retorted, knowing that otherwise, the older Padawan would just keep calling her Senator  
“Okay. Padme, why did the Jedi throw Ahsoka to the senate with no evidence. I heard the rumors, they were planning on _killing_ her” Barriss whined, knowing how bad things had gotten through the rumors, not to mention she had snuck around the temple and the Grand Army HQ enough to hear things. Barriss was rather distressed by what had almost happened  
“I don't know, Barriss. But I’m going to ensure there's a full inquiry into what happened, once the real perpetrator has been caught. Ahsoka...” Padme began, keeping her eyes on Barriss “You recognize discretion, right?”  
“I am a Jedi” Barriss replied  
“Ahsoka here is like my daughter. In fact, I might actually ask An... Nevermind”

Barriss didn't know any of the details of Padme or Anakin's life and therefore their relationship was still somewhat a secret, mostly thanks to Obi-Wan and Ahsoka running interference without being aware that the other knew. Obi-Wan didn't want to see Anakin kicked to the curb and abandoned while Ahsoka didn't want to be sent off to AgriCorps or to another Master like Luminara or worse, Krell. Not that she had anything against Luminara, she was just a tad... cold for the touch-driven, friendly and social Togruta’s liking. Ahsoka made a noise somewhere between a cough and a laugh. “No, please Padme” the young Togruta smiled at Padme innocently but she managed to get her point across  
Padme raised an eyebrow. _Kriff. She knows_. “I might see if I can adopt you, since you've left the Jedi”  
“You what?!” Barriss shrieked. Much to Ahsoka's shock though, the feelings rolling off of Barriss were about as far away from negative as she could get, she would dare to say that the Mirialan was _delighted_ to hear the news.  
“I quit the Jedi” Ahsoka repeated, more confidently

There were a few moments of silence while Ahsoka and Barriss absorbed the news, and each others’ reactions to said news. “Ahsoka... I'm so proud of you!! They didn't deserve you anyway” Barriss growled the words. Over the course of their friendship, Barriss had gone from thinking of Ahsoka as _the_ worst possible example of a Jedi, save from her Master, Anakin, to the exact opposite. She hadn't exactly met Ahsoka in the most Jedi-like of circumstances, in fact, her first impression of the then barely teen girl was of her snipping back and forth with her Master, arguing about some aspect of the mission or another, almost certainly about how she felt Anakin didn't trust her and that, along with the general disrespect toward him and everything Jedi made her less than impressed. Her initial dismissal of Ahsoka was quickly cast into doubt after Ahsoka was the one to not give up and subsequently save them when her own Master, Luminara was willing to write them off at the first hurdle. Over the next few rotations, Ahsoka proved herself to be kind, caring, considerate and yes, ferocious and deadly in battle but above all, she was compassionate, fair and loyal. Ahsoka had been willing to sacrifice herself to gain even the remotest chance to save Barriss from death, either from the brain worm that had made itself a home in Barriss' head or from a lightsaber and that... That was the start of their friendship. Ahsoka could have died from so many things that day, the clones’ blasters, Barriss' lightsaber, deadly shards of glass, the worm or the biting chill of the cooling systems which had been severed by Ahsoka's lightsaber to speed up the freezing and as Barriss felt the last vestiges of consciousness leave her after the cold purged the worm from Barriss' body and Ahsoka sliced it up, she felt the younger Padawan pull her closer and hold her as they sat there dying from exposure. Since then, they had worked together on several missions and Ahsoka always went in for kill shots on those enemies that were sentient, a tactic that she quickly learned to be her way of saving even her enemies from undue suffering caused by lightsaber wounds, blaster burns or slowly bleeding out from environmentally induced injuries while other species viewed it as the ultimate disgrace to be taken by the enemy so she saved them from that fate. Not only that but Ahsoka was one of a select few allowed to be sat with the Troopers while they mourned their Vod'e and knew almost all of them by the names they selected for themselves. She was Vod'ika, a rare honor not even Master Yoda had been given. Barriss had quickly learned that her first impression of the snarky little brat called Ahsoka Tano was wrong and in fact, in many ways, she was the perfect Jedi. She most likely wouldn't have ended up as the most diplomatic of the Jedi when she became a Master, there was too much of the Huntress in her for that but Ahsoka was a near-personification of almost every value that the Jedi should have held most dear but didn't as a result of the war. It pained Barriss more than ever when she saw just how distraught her actions had left the younger girl, the girl who could've become amongst the very best of the Jedi since Ahsoka naturally exceeded Barriss in out of the box thinking since she could keep up with _The Hero With No Fear_ mostly effortlessly and had gotten to the point where her reverse Shien grip of the Jar’Kai variant of Ahsoka's own form four- and five-based lightsaber form that she was creating all for herself could thrash all but the most powerful of opponents. Sparring with Ahsoka had been something Barriss enjoyed immensely, and Ahsoka had started working with the studious Padawan on her own Jar’Kai technique which was something that she used to great effect to take down her only friend and leave her vulnerable to being blamed for the terror attack on the Jedi Temple since the younger girl only had one lightsaber

Barriss fought back tears at the realization that nothing would be the same again, not anymore. She knew she would lose the person who made her the happiest and wondered why oh why didn't she think things through a little more, make a plan to keep both her involvement a secret and her best friend safe?  
“Barriss?” Ahsoka shook her shoulder  
“Sorry?” Barriss looked over to Ahsoka with a small, sad smile  
“Why don't you come with us to... Wherever we’re going?” Barriss looked around, while she had been distracted by her thoughts Padme had left the room, trusting Barriss to look after the distraught girl in her care. Feeling another lance of regret at how Padme was trusting the last person she should to look after Ahsoka, the Mirialan shook her head. “I... Can't” Barriss wasn't Padawan Learner Barriss Offee anymore, she was a tired, scared young woman, filled with regret and who knew she would probably die alone  
“But Barriss...” Ahsoka began, she would fight for her friend  
“I can't. I need to go back to the Jedi, report in after which I may be able to hand in my resignation”  
“I was wondering when you'd talk about it. You've been rather preoccupied since the bombing and seemingly less and less comfortable with what's going on, less satisfied as a Jedi”  
Barriss knew she shouldn't be surprised, but that girl was far too observant. She may not have been the best at patience but she was still observant, especially when it came to Barriss. “I'm sorry, Ahsoka” Barriss began, her emotions finally too much to hold back and tears leaking out of her eyes. “I'm sorry for everything the Jedi did to you, everything _I_ did to you”  
“Barriss, calm down. Please” Ahsoka whispered, holding Barriss close, unaware that their time together was probably not going to be repeated  
“I just wanted to apologize before we go our own separate ways” Barriss whispered, desperately trying to get her tears under control  
“Hey. We’ll always be together, right?” Ahsoka smiled at Barriss in the pure, heartfelt way that Barriss always loved to see  
“R-right” Barriss hiccuped, smiling against her will  
“Then why don't we stick together now? I'm sure Padme can contact Rex and pass on your resignation too” Ahsoka looked at her friend with _hope_ in her eyes and Barriss shook her head, she couldn't bear to watch that hope die when she inevitably found out the truth  
“I can't... I have to go back to the Jedi. I can't come with you to your protective custody, I don't want to know where you're going in case _they_ ask me and I have a few bits of unfinished business to attend to anyway” Barriss explained, a derogatory huff exhaled as she mentioned the Jedi  
“Oh. I see” Ahsoka suddenly felt awkward. For a second she didn't remember how much more studious her best friend was.  
“But there is something I can do. Something that'll help both of us over what's to come... Ahsoka, I get it if you don't want to but...” she coughed, switching to a more formal tone while adjusting her sitting position. “Ahsoka Tano, please take my hands”  
Ahsoka gasped and Barriss was happy to see that not all of the spiritual side of being a Jedi had been ignored in Ahsoka's education. The Togruta dropped down into a lotus position in front of Barriss and extended her hands out to grip Barriss'. “We can at least share one last meditation together”  
Understanding had already blossomed over Ahsoka's face, but that had quickly been replaced by shock. “Barriss...”  
“ _I want to_ ” the older girl replied, closing her eyes. 

Ahsoka did the same. “ _I want to_ too”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay this was meant to be one chapter but it just ended up with a life of its own and grew too long so it's now two chapters!!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “ **Love is the most powerful force in the galaxy** ”
> 
>  **Hope reborn!! Ahsoka Tano, former Padawan to Anakin Skywalker has a small amount of hope restored that she would be cleared of crimes she did not commit! The traitorous Padawan Barriss Offee snuck on to the craft carrying Ahsoka to safety and revealed that there was hope in the form of a mysterious message that claimed to prove Ahsoka's innocence!!**  
>  Now speeding away from Coruscant and unaware of Barriss' treachery, Ahsoka spends some time meditating with her best friend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part two of chapter three!!  
> This is where shit starts happening:)

“ _...I did it. I’m a Jedi and I bombed the Temple. Once I have confirmation that Ahsoka Tano has been released I will transmit the decryption sequence for the rest of this message at which point I will reveal who I am_ ”

Anakin Skywalker growled and tightened his grip on the innocuous little holographic projector which was the sole piece of evidence he had discovered, left in his room no less. He and his astromech, Artoo had been up all night trying to crack the encryption. He had all the resources of the Jedi Order at his disposal so he wasn't worried about not getting past the encryption, he was worried about whether it would be decrypted in time to save his Padawan from execution. Without Quinlan Vos’ psychometry, the only way to identify the actual perpetrators of the bombing would be to decrypt the device and expose the encrypted portion of the message in the hope that the person who left it for him did reveal themselves in the recording as promised. He had been listening to the message time and time again while working to try to identify any recognizable inflections from the vocordered or droid voice

“ _Attention, Jedi High Council. By now you will have framed Ahsoka Tano for the crime of bombing the Jedi Temple, I assure you that she wasn't the one responsible for bombing the Temple. As such, I have made arrangements using the nanodroid explosives used in the Temple bombing to ensure that, if she returns to the Jedi Temple or is taken to the Senate courtrooms, she will die. If she comes within a hundred feet of any Jedi, the explosives will detonate and kill her instantly. However, the same cannot be said for any other Jedi in the vicinity who will die much slower. I have already killed six Jedi and while I do not want to kill anymore, I will do so to ensure Ahsoka Tano's safety._ ” There was a pause of a few brief moments then the person continued speaking, “ _I did it. I'm a Jedi and I bombed the Temple and once I have confirmation that Ahsoka Tano has been released I will transmit the decryption sequence for the rest of this message at which point I will reveal who I am_ ”

Anakin scowled darkly at the unfamiliar symbol on the screen before him, a symbol identified as that of an ancient Sith weapon, the Star Forge. He had delved deep into that particular trail only to find it to be a dead-end at which point he nearly threw Artoo down some nearby stairs with the Force. “Kark it!!” he growled angrily, he didn't have much time before Ahsoka’s trial and while he knew Ahsoka was safe, from immediate execution, he knew he had to find evidence before time ran out and Ahsoka was marked as a traitor and a bounty was put on her head

*****

Ahsoka sat in the lotus position, her arms out in front of her so Barriss could hold on to her while she mirrored Ahsoka's lotus position, she had slowed her breathing in an effort to get into a meditative state. She knew that, aside from battle meditation where she and others could think as one in combat, meditation was the one area of being a Jedi she really struggled with since she struggled with both staying still and keeping quiet and her Master wasn't much better. Barriss' presence helped ground her and she often used the older woman’s presence as an anchor to keep her in meditation. Neither girl tended to touch each other while meditating since it distracted them from their goal, reaching a different state of consciousness. Their current meditation exercise was something different and required extended physical contact and as a result of the contact, Barriss was the one who struggled to get into a deep enough relaxation to be able to sense the force swirling around her at a much deeper level than she could while fully conscious.

Nearly three hours later, both young women had sunk into the Force, recognizing each others’ presence at long last. Barriss’ presence in the force was slightly calmer than Ahsoka's, the swirl of the force not quite so erratic but also was glowing slightly brighter as a result of her stronger connection in the spiritual side of the Jedi arts. Ahsoka's signature, on the other hand, was always changing, always twisting uncontrollably but within the core of her being existed a thrum of suppressed power that remained untapped, power that far exceeded anything Barriss could ever hope to have. What confused Barriss was the purity of the power, she could tell while that close to Ahsoka's signature that the suppressed power was virginal, it hadn’t ever been used. It wasn't even like the impression she gathered from being around Anakin Skywalker at the height of his prowess, where the endless reserves of light were mixed in with the dark, what Barriss felt to be far too much dark and at that moment she knew that if Skywalker ever caught her, she'd have been lucky to live through the ordeal since the rage had already been building up second by second that his Padawan was wrongly accused of capital crimes and the last time she saw him was several days ago, soon after Ahsoka was arrested

Ahsoka tapped oh so gently on Barriss' mental shields and darted around outside the outer limit, earning her an impression of fondness and amusement from deep within Barriss’ consciousness even as her own reached out to Ahsoka to do the same, to knock on her own defenses. Barriss opened her defenses at the same moment Ahsoka’s dropped hers and the two young women spent a few seconds admiring the different swirling and flashing without the veil that was their minds’ natural barriers. Ahsoka hadn't thrown up the excessively strong barriers that she had taught herself to erect as part of her tuition under Anakin Skywalker who had ensured she knew many different combat techniques and tactics from both Jedi and non-sensitives which shielded almost all of her radiance from all but the strongest of force-sensitives but her usual barriers were enough to dull the glow. Amazed by the beauty the two floated in their mindscape watching the other’s signature for a few moments

Barriss allowed Ahsoka entry to her mind at the same moment the Togruta did the same and both women would've gasped at essentially becoming immersed in the others’ consciousness, something neither of them had done before. Thoughts, feelings, memories were all at least somewhat visible to the other, surface memories and emotions much easier to access than less recent memories. The Mirialan had always been amazed at how well Ahsoka had been dealing with the war in comparison to her own coping but the truth was laid bare, it was ravaging the younger woman's psyche as much as it was Barriss'. While they were both in the unique form of meditation, Ahsoka simply couldn't hide just how hard the war had been hitting her, the relief she felt at being recalled to the Temple only to be followed by an even deeper, darker despair and horror as she was accused of the terrorist attack. Barriss wrestled with the guilt even as Ahsoka realized just how desperate the older woman had become to escape the war. A despair and horror that was being soothed by being near their best friend's unfiltered love and energy

Ahsoka felt sickened as she witnessed Barriss' growing mental distress, the war had worn down every part of the senior Padawan until she was truly desperate. Ahsoka caught sight of memories where Barriss hurt herself, her blood running down in thin rivulets to gather beneath her legs and felt the subsequent calmness from doing so, and she knew from Barriss' pain and memories that she used her healing to ensure that she wasn’t ever caught seeking the relief she felt she so desperately needed. To Ahsoka, all of Barriss' memories from the past few years seemed to lead to one place, a mental image of a door. Ahsoka being Ahsoka hammered on it a few times but when it didn't open Ahsoka respectfully left it alone but not without curiosity as to what was behind the door. If Barriss wanted to keep it private then Ahsoka wouldn't barge in.

Ahsoka’s mind meanwhile was fully open for the other young woman to browse, even her darkest moments like after she had been infected by the Blue Shadow Virus when she had to spend three weeks in the halls of healing where she was severely depressed though she hadn't ever gotten to the same desperation as Barriss. Just being able to train with Anakin took most of the edge off of those bouts of depression except the worst. The worst by far was Steela's death, Steela Gerrera was a friend Ahsoka had made on Onderon who had died when Ahsoka had failed to save her after being shot by a Separatist gunship. Barriss winced at the memory of the sting of the burn then the heartbreak of realizing she had let go, allowing Steela to fall to her death. All of Ahsoka's trauma was started on the journey toward healing by her best friend

Ahsoka and Barriss finally felt soothed and that they were ready and the memory of their hands being intertwined on a meditation attempt brought back a memory of them attempting to meditate a few years beforehand, where they both held hands in a similar way to how they were sitting in Padme's diplomatic ship only to be interrupted by Obi-Wan and Luminara who separated the two by force and pretty much carried them to the healers where Obi-Wan commed Yoda. They could still remember Yoda's harsh words about the dangerousness of their actions. Both young women felt outward in the force and found the very core of the other’s signature, reaching out toward it with their feelings and feeling an immense warmth and contentedness the moment they touched the others’ core consciousness. Neither Barriss nor Ahsoka had ever felt so good, so calm, so content, so loved

Outside of the meditation where time passed at a regular rate and yet it had been several hours since they sunk into the meditation, both women promptly passed out, joyous smiles on both women's faces and their souls felt cleansed after they had done what they did. It was a new beginning for the two

*****

“No!! _Please_ , My Lord. _Please_ , My Master, don't _hurt_ me!!!” A thirty-odd cycle old Mirialan woman begged through her electronic voice and her eyes wide from terror. _I beg you..._  
“I told you,” FSSS PSSHHHH “First Sister, that your continued failures only aggravate my already limited patience” FSSS PSSHHHH  
The woman looked up at the Machine in a Mask, she knew who it was of course and therefore understood why the Machine was so easy to infuriate, he was perpetually annoyed just by her existence. Not even the other Inquisitors suffered at his hand the way she did, the first time she failed in her training, it had cost her a very painful lightsaber stab wound in her abdomen, the lightsaber set to full power. The second time she failed, which was mainly down to the lightsaber stab wound she received, she had lost all her fingers on her right hand but those were nothing compared to the injury she sustained from discovering his true identity; a lightsaber across the ankles had severed both her feet and she had toppled to the ground with a thud. Eventually, she had been fitted with poorly fitting prosthetics that caused her agony whenever she even touched the floor with her feet but she had eventually learned how to use the pain to fuel her power and after that, the Machine left her alone, more or less. After being relegated to desk duty on account of her injuries she had eventually gained an opportunity to capture or kill one of several Fulcrum agents, Fulcrum was one of the more dangerous enemies of the Empire and she had failed spectacularly which earned her a lightsaber strike across her face, permanently scarring her and subsequently, driven to absolute wrath by the fury of the dark side and her continuing humiliation, she had attempted to attack him while screaming at him. Her attempt to kill him ended a lot worse than she expected, he merely flicked his crimson lightsaber with no warning and sliced through her neck, silencing her voice once and for all.

First Sister had caught sight of the Fulcrum’s high ranking agent which she had followed only to receive a pair of lightsaber wounds down the entirety of her back for her troubles. She had only caught glimpses of her attacker but hadn't really been able to express that to the Machine after he had her retrieved in disgrace by Second Sister and Seventh Sister, the pain from the lightsaber wounds were too much for her to cope with even though she had endured torture after torture. The Machine had ordered her taken back to the Inquisitorius Headquarters where he would 'debrief’ her. She had been strapped to one of the tables in the Inquisitorius Headquarters where one of their newest model of torture droids were allowed to have their way with her and only after an extensive 'debriefing' was she able to get out the words she needed to in order to please her master; “Togruta. Aged early thirties. Blue and white headtails, orange skin. Force signature somewhat familiar. White lightsabers.” The woman's vocordered voice still grated on her nerves and she suspected it always would

There were a few moments of silence where only the machine’s respirator could be heard. FSSS PSSHHHH. FSSS PSSHHHH. FSSS PSSHHHH. FSSS PSSHHHH.

The Machine screamed at her “YOU WILL NOW KNOW PAIN AS _I_ KNOW IT”

There was a glint of a vibroblade

The plops of four severed limbs

The drip drip drip of blood

A feeling that went beyond agony, and a shriek

*****

Somewhere in space, a female Mirialan jolted into a sitting position with such an agonized shriek of pain and fear that it woke the woman sleeping with her and alerted the other woman who was in her own bedroom  
“Barriss? Barriss!!” A Togruta moved smoothly from where she was led on her back up on to her knees to comfort the other woman. “Barriss, what happened?”  
“Oh, 'Soka. It was horrific” Barriss buried her face in Ahsoka's shoulder, “it was a vision, I didn't understand much of it but this Machine... Man... Machine. Kark. Well, they were... T-torturing me”  
“Torturing you?!” Ahsoka cried in outrage at the horrific thought of Barriss being tortured. The horror enough to not even notice Barriss’ use of a swear  
“Yea... Torturing me” Barriss let the tears fall. She had partly hoped to change the outcome by not letting Ahsoka take the fall for her actions but it seemed to have been futile. The door slid open silently and Padme stepped through to see if everything was okay.  
The woman who was soon to become Ahsoka's foster mom sat the opposite side to the terrified Togruta and wrapped her arms around the shaking Mirialan woman. “Barriss? What happened?”  
“She had a vision, Padme”

“I gotta go. I can't stay here” Barriss started to babble at both women  
“You can't let fear drive your actions, Barriss” Ahsoka replied, trying to act calming to stop her friend making a rash, desperate decision she would regret  
“I-I guess I'll go back to the Temple instead of meeting up with Master Unduli, wherever she's gone off to” Ahsoka shared a glance with Padme, trying to communicate without words that _this isn't Barriss_. Barriss didn't just lose track of her Master or panic so severely, even after an unpleasant force vision. Barriss though was firmly entrenched in her belief that she had to get away from Ahsoka and everyone else. “I'll go back to the temple, speak to Master Yoda”  
Before Ahsoka could reply she was swamped by a positive, reassuring feeling and Ahsoka knew then that Barriss had made up her mind. She would go off on her own and then reunite back with them at a later date, once whatever threat that Ahsoka was facing had been neutralized. _Oh, Barriss..._  
“Then so long as nothing happens to delay me, I'll tell Master Unduli I'm leaving the order and I'll come find you.” Leaving the order was, after all, something she desperately wanted but up until Ahsoka had been forced out, she had been too afraid to commit to that path  
Padme raised an eyebrow, “how do you plan to find Ahsoka?” she asked, she was under the strictest orders from her husband not to let anyone get too close to his Padawan since someone had threatened to kill her  
“I'll find a way” Barriss smiled  
“Well, we were about to dock at an outpost for refueling anyway so we can let you off here?” Padme asked, trying to ignore the bundle of nerves sat on the other side of the Mirialan. “I guess we can't really have you come along with us either, Ahsoka wants you to but she’s in protective custody”  
“Then put Barriss under protective custody too!” Ahsoka snapped, still as snippy as ever  
“Don't you get Snippy with me” Padme grumbled to sudden peals of trilling laughter regardless of the seriousness of the situation  
Barriss looked between the two, a slight frown on her face as she attempted to figure out the joke even as the Togruta's laughter warmed her heart.

Two short hours later, both Ahsoka and Barriss were stood by the airlock. The ship had been refueled and it was time to go. Neither girl really wanted to leave the other but Barriss knew it was for the best. Padme was giving the two some space to say goodbye as she had been hard-pressed to keep the spirits of both young women high and she was mentally slumping. “Goodbye, Ahsoka” Barriss whispered, hugging the young woman as tightly as she could, trying to express how she felt with as few words as possible. She had realized that she might not ever see her best friend again  
“No, not goodbye, Barriss. I’ll only accept a see you later. This won't be the end of our friendship. I won't let it be the end of our friendship”  
_Oh, Ahsoka..._ Barriss squeezed even tighter. _Our friendship is already kriffed up, thanks to my actions_. “Okay, I'll see you... Soon” it took her a long time to get that final word out and if Ahsoka noticed anything unusual she didn't comment.  
_I hope our friendship is okay, not kriffed up_. Ahsoka slowly untangled herself from the other woman who wiped her cheeks for some reason. _I'm crying?_  
“I'll be okay, Ahsoka. I promise. You know you can find me anytime you wish, right?”  
“I know” Ahsoka confirmed with a small smile as Barriss stepped through the airlock door and it hissed shut. _No... Wait... Barriss! I think I love you!!_ Ahsoka ran forward but it was too late, the senatorial craft had undocked from the station and began floating away.

*****

Barriss watched the senatorial craft move further and further away, the head of the pilot joined by another head. An orange hand was placed on the cockpit transparisteel viewport even as Barriss put her own hand on the airlock's viewport. _I love you, Ahsoka..._ That realization, the realization that she was _in love_ with Ahsoka, along with the crippling guilt caused by what she had done led Barriss to stumble backward and crash down on the floor of the outpost with a grunt, a visceral reaction to what she had done to her best friend. Padme’s ship darted away into hyperspace at exactly the same moment as she fell back. _Ahsoka, I'm so so sorry_. The older woman took out a comm from a pouch on her belt and pressed a button; send.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew, that was a wild ride... Those poor girls.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> " **Betrayal hurts more than death** "
> 
>  **Ahsoka Tano has been cleared from all wrongdoing by a shocking reveal at her trial, a trial she did not attend due to threats on her life! The young Togruta feels safe in the knowledge that her friends would never harm her**  
>  Unbeknownst to her, the traitorous Barriss Offee has confessed publicly and committed further crimes in the process...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is heavier on world building and heavier in themes too

“Ahsoka” the voice disturbed Ahsoka's first truly restful sleep in several rotations, resulting in the reluctant Togruta frowning and turning away from the source of the voice. “Ahsoka it’s time to wake up” the familiar feminine voice called out to her again and the young woman merely responded by mumbling and pulling her blankets even tighter around herself. “Okay, Ahsoka” the voice sounded more resigned and wrapped her arms around the sleeping girl, picking her and her blankets up awkwardly to carry her somewhere, awkwardly resting her head on her shoulder like how one would carry a child

It had been almost a rotation and a half since Ahsoka had said goodbye to Barriss, her best friend and the young ex-Jedi had been asleep since soon after she had said goodbye as she hadn't really had much opportunity to sleep, the time spent unconscious hadn't counted since both she and the green-skinned Mirialan had completely exhausted themselves with their meditation and had consequently passed out, keeling over on the same bed. Furthermore no sooner had Ahsoka passed from unconsciousness into actual sleep, the Mirialan she was sharing a bed with had been assaulted by a horrific force vision and had woken her Togrutan friend with her panicked kicking and screaming. Before that, Ahsoka had been in a space battle in which she had gotten banged up trying to save her reckless master, had been called back to Coruscant to go on the trail of a terrorist, having to abort the attempted offensive in the process, she had then ended up in prison for a murder she did not commit which in turn led to her being on the run and finally landed back in prison again after she was seemingly betrayed by her companion, Asajj Ventress. None of those experiences had been all that conducive to her actually getting rest and she had been awake for almost four rotations by the time Padme had taken her into protective custody against the Jedi. Padme had set her senatorial craft down in one of the priority landing pads of the Theed Royal Palace, spoke to Neeyutnee, the Queen of Naboo and took off again, all without disturbing the exhausted Togruta. Once she had arrived at her final destination, a somewhat isolated mansion in the Lake Country of Naboo, she had once again attempted to wake her young charge but quickly gave up, opting to carry the young woman with the help of her handmaid, Sabé. Sabé was the only other person who knew Padme’s true reason for traveling out to the Lake Country and had been waiting for the Senator at her private residence where she found herself helping Padme move an incredibly muscular seventeen-cycle-old orange-skinned Togruta woman who was totally dead to the world. “She's heavy, My Lady” the loyal bodyguard and handmaid spoke, once she was certain it wouldn't disturb the young woman  
“Yeah, well she deserves this sleep” Padme replied, gazing down at the young woman with such a look of profound _love_ on her face that Sabé had to smile.  
_You'd be such a great mommy, My Lady_. “I understand given all those horrific experiences she’s gone through, I can't say I approve. Taking part in the war at her age, leading men to their deaths? Worse, when she was fourteen?”  
“I know, Sabé. I don't agree with the Jedi on that either, though if she hadn’t been there, I probably would've died in that virus fiasco” Padme was referring to the time Nuvo Vindi had perfected an airborne version of a deadly plague and she, Ahsoka, the calamitous Jar Jar Binks and several clones had been caught up in the deadly cloud that meant they only had a few hours left to live. Ahsoka, despite only being fifteen cycles old, had remained cool, calm and collected even as her men fell down around her while that klutzy fool Jar Jar was the only person who had remained safe. They had eventually been rescued but it was too late for a number of the clones and touch and go for the young Jedi herself. “Had she not remained as calm as she did, her men might have freaked. I know they were engineered to withstand stress, but everyone in that base was dying.” _Except that damned Gungan!! How is that fair?! It was his fault that more of us were contaminated!!_ “And the trauma of that sort can do things to the mind, no matter how disciplined one is. You should've seen her, she was amazing with the Troopers”  
“I read the reports and you’re right, she _was_ incredible. I'm still totally shocked at what they did to her!!” Sabé didn't need to name names. “How she could’ve been executed for something there was no way she would do, if it wasn't for your husband” Padme's lead handmaid had known of their marriage for the longest, Padme would have invited her to the wedding but it would’ve been too suspicious. The Senator found herself wishing more and more that both Sabé and Ahsoka had been there and she vowed to tell Ahsoka at the first opportunity  
“I'm so thankful for him.” Padme smiled at the memory of the first time she had met the eager Togrutan, “I'm going to adopt her, it's only fair. The Jedi kicked her out and lost their chance at being her family. Her actually having a real, loving family is long overdue and I want that poor, traumatized child, cos that's what she is, still. A child. I want her to be loved properly. I know Anakin loves her as a daughter but that can't ever be publicly known, just like our marriage. I'm on the outside of the order and I can adopt that poor girl.” Padme concluded, her unspoken words clear, _show her a better life than she would’ve had with those hypocritical Jedi_. The two women had crossed the threshold of the mansion and had placed Ahsoka on one of the beds in the master bedroom. “I'm so proud of her for leaving the Jedi” The ever poised Senator didn't swear but if she had, she would have been cursing the Jedi Council for what they had done to Ahsoka  
“I know you are, I can see it in your eyes, My Lady. I think you'd be such a wonderful mom too, and I wouldn't want Ahsoka to have anyone else be her parents”  
“Thank you, Sabé” Padme leaned over the vulnerable-looking Togruta and kissed her forehead, saying goodnight in the traditional Naboo fashion for mothers to their children

*****

“Senatorial Vessel PA-one-three-two requesting permission to land” a young woman’s voice crackled into life over the comms at Theed Landing Control  
“Roger, one-three-two. Please transmit codes and stand by” the controller replied. With the war's outbreak came new security procedures on even the most pacifist of planets, those included more stringent security checks and the turbolasers that were spooling up even as the man spoke to the incoming starship  
“Transmitting codes” the woman replied, hit a few controls to transmit and then waited in silence, watching the turbolasers warily  
“You are cleared to land at the Palace, landing pad two”

The woman brought her craft into land and then disembarked after which she was promptly escorted to the Queen’s throne room. “Good evening Senator” the Queen spoke with all the regality that could be expected of someone in her position, though in the Senator’s opinion she didn't have the same _presence_ that Padme had always had  
“Good evening, Your Highness.” She replied politely, banishing her thoughts to the back of her mind, it was time for her to play the part of a Senator again, most likely for the last time  
“How can the people of Naboo help you today, Senator?”  
“I'm here to see Senator Amidala, I had a message saying she was here, on Naboo”  
“She's at her residence, yes. What is your reason for being here?”  
“I wanted to talk to her, to catch up and maybe spend some time with her”  
“Very well. I'll have her location transferred to your craft but... Be warned, the Naboo will not take kindly to her being put in danger or hurt”  
The woman had expected that kind of response and nodded. “I would never do such a thing, you have my word, Your Highness and thank you.” Very few could compare to Padme Amidala when it came to doing things for the people of Naboo  
“You're welcome” the Queen called forth a droid and told it to upload the coordinates of Padme’s residence to the Senator’s ship and with that, dismissed both the Senator and the astromech

*****

When Ahsoka awoke early in the morning the rotation after their arrival on Naboo, she jolted upright in a heartbeat, attempting to summon her lightsabers due to the unfamiliar surroundings. Their continued absence only served to remind the young woman exactly what had transpired since she left for what had become her last mission, an aborted offensive on Cato Neimoidia for she had been forced to hand over the one lightsaber she had managed to hold on to during the fight in the warehouse upon her arrest, her shoto had disappeared into the depths of Coruscant somewhere. She looked around the opulent room and realized that she must be in Padme's home for the room was larger than any on the craft she and Padme had used to fly to wherever they were. _Naboo_ , she concluded after barely a few seconds thought. It was only logical, Padme needed to take her somewhere safe and Naboo was somewhere she knew very well, it was her home after all

Sluggishly, the young Togrutan ex-Jedi clambered to her knees and crawled to the edge of the bed to get to her feet. The horrors she had faced were already starting to feel like an incredibly detailed psychedelic delusion and, had she not been on Naboo, she wouldn't have believed any of it to be true. How easily the Jedi Council had turned on her and fixed their judgemental gazes on her had shocked her to her core, the core beliefs she had believed in since before she could remember had been so utterly obliterated by the actions of the Council who were considered to be the wisest amongst the Jedi. _Fools. Fools! The lot of them! She thought angrily_. “Anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering”

Repeating her mantra, the Jedi Code since she hadn't yet found an alternate, she slowly explored the room, finding the door locked though there was a little flimsi note informing her the door had been locked for her own safety and would be unlocked as soon as Padme woke up. Rolling her eyes, Ahsoka continued to explore the room, not finding so much as a datapad in her room. The Queen-sized bed along with all the trinkets made her wonder if she was in the master bedroom, Padme's bedroom for she could clearly see many little items from places she recognized, various worlds she and her Master had been to over the few short years of her apprenticeship to The Chosen One. _Yup. Definitely not an innocent friendship_ was Ahsoka's conclusion, reinforced by several holoimages of Padme in a white dress. _Married?_ She asked herself

The young woman eventually grew bored of exploring the room and looked out the almost panoramic window, awed by not only the beauty but also the serenity of her environment. The force on Naboo was _at peace_ , that, in turn, allowed Ahsoka to spot a datapad in the distance, on a wooden table next to a dock for boats and other watercraft. Sighing, the young woman opened the window and called the device to her hand with the Force. Deciding to leave the window open since the fresh air provided by doing so was still a rather novel experience for the ex-Jedi, she had gotten used to the stale air of the city planet since she had grown up on Coruscant and the fresh air of nature was still rather novel to her, her time on other planets had mostly been unpleasant as a result of their environment; Geonosis, Tatooine, Umbara, or secondary to that of some nameless skirmish such as the only other time she had been to Naboo to stop the Blue Shadow Virus. The young ex-Jedi's montrals caught the sounds of a familiar voice talking to an unfamiliar one; “Good morning, Sabé”  
“Good morning, Senator” the unfamiliar voice replied with an underlying current of relief echoing through the Force. “I still can't believe that you resigned”  
“Yeah well, the Senate isn't what it once was and after that appalling spectacle, I felt I was needed elsewhere, more specifically, here. I boarded my ship, used my senatorial codes to bypass the blockade designed to keep _the traitor_ on Coruscant then, once I was in hyperspace, I tendered my resignation. What they did to Ahsoka was the worst cruelty I have ever seen in the courts.” Ahsoka couldn't help but wonder if they all knew who the traitor to the Jedi was and whether she was being kept in the dark deliberately or not  
“To be frank, I'm just glad I'm not gonna be dealing with Ahsoka by myself, she's gonna need a friendly, familiar face around, especially after all that”  
“Does she know yet?” the familiar voice asked, confirming to Ahsoka that they, and probably Padme too, knew who the real perpetrators were  
“No. My Lady has made sure she's been able to rest, as I understand it she spent something like six rotations awake without any proper sleep. It's all over the holonet, special reports, wanted person announcements, the whole nine yards, even requests for interviews from our guest. Anyway, My Lady will be up soon enough and then we'll have to start working with a traumatized, depressed Togruta. Before all that, breakfast?” Sabé suggested. She had been reading up on the Togrutii culture and had discovered that they didn't do so well in isolation and often took a betrayal by a member of their clan, their family incredibly badly, to the point of suicide. The lead bodyguard had already spoken to Padme about that and further help would be arriving soon, though they hoped to get Ahsoka settled in beforehand

Their voices receded into the noises of nature, the background to such a serene place. _Why would I be traumatized and depressed?_ Ahsoka asked herself, _I know I went through some poodoo but why is what's going on so different?_ The young woman turned her attention to the datapad, she may have been a Jedi for most of her life but she had been around non-Jedi enough to read between the lines and realize they were deliberately trying to stop her from knowing the truth, at least until Padme was awake. _Padme must have to go back to the Senate soon_.  
Flicking the datapad on with her thumb she started searching for news on the Temple bombing, quickly discovering a video recording of the courtroom, of what would have been her trial had Padme not spirited her away

*****

The datapad displayed a hologram of the courtroom, Chancellor Palpatine on his raised platform, Mon Mothma on the defense platform having taken Padme's place, Admiral Tarkin acting as the prosecution and the cold heartless gazes of the Jedi Council watching the proceedings from their private box. Ahsoka momentarily felt a burst of rage at the sight of the Jedi, those that had condemned her without even giving her a chance. Ahsoka wasn't surprised to see Anakin lurking by the entrance, clearly waiting for an opportunity to do one of his grand entrances but her eyes were drawn back to Palpatine who had stood, his loyal right-hand man, Mas Amedda a short distance away. “This court is now in session” the holographic Chancellor began. “Admiral, where is Tano?” he added after a few moments when the young Togruta didn't appear  
“I do not know, Your Excellency” the sleemo of a man replied with a disapproving scowl already appearing on his face.  
_If I was a Darksider_ , Ahsoka thought, _I’d choke the life outta that sleemo_. Knowing that she wouldn't ever act on it had allowed her to entertain one or two of those less than Jedi fantasies over the years, usually only when someone pissed her off and Tarkin had certainly done that  
“Your Excellency” Mon Mothma spoke for the first time, “Ahsoka Tano has been taken into protective custody due to threats upon her life. With all due respect, I would like to submit a motion to the courts to defer...”  
The female Senator wasn't given the chance to finish her request for the Chancellor spoke over her. “Then the courts will try her in her absence” The man looked distinctly unfriendly all of a sudden, a cold expression on his face at the prospect of not being able to get rid of one of the biggest problems he had faced while trying to turn Anakin Skywalker into Darth Vader. The evil man had, of course, chosen his apprentice's Sith Name well in advance

That earned a few raised eyebrows from those assembled, the Council shared a few concerned glances, especially between Obi-Wan Kenobi, Shaak Ti and Plo Koon, all of whom knew the young Togruta better than the others. Obi-Wan had been her Grandmaster; her Master’s Master, Shaak had been her Hunt Mother; the woman who had guided her through her first Akul hunt on Shili and Plo was the one who had found her on Shili. They had all thought the same thing, how _that_ sounded _distinctly unconstitutional_

“Your Excellency!!” Anakin had chosen that moment to enter the courtroom, armed solely with a datapad in his hand. The young man had even forgone his lightsaber  
“What is the meaning of this, young Skywalker?” The man's heartless expression had broken, forming one of his kind, understanding smiles but also chilling Ahsoka to the bone  
“I hereby submit evidence to the court that Ahsoka Tano is innocent of all charges!!”

Anakin used the force to float a device very similar to the one Ahsoka was watching the trial on up to the Chancellor who took it and flipped it on. A symbol appeared, one that Ahsoka vaguely remembered from her studies of history, studies that she had admittedly mostly neglected as a result of the war, a symbol accompanied by a voice, a chilling mechanical voice that spoke to the courtroom without any kind of regard for where it was; “ _Attention, Jedi High Council. By now you will have framed Ahsoka Tano for the crime of bombing the Jedi Temple, I assure you that she wasn't the one responsible for bombing the Temple. As such, I have made arrangements using the same nanodroid explosives used in the Temple bombing to ensure that, if she returns to the Jedi Temple or is taken to the Senate courtrooms, she will die. If she comes within a hundred feet of any Jedi, the explosives will detonate and kill her instantly. However, the same cannot be said for any other Jedi in the vicinity who will die much slower. I have already killed six Jedi and while I do not want to kill anymore, I will do so to ensure Ahsoka Tano's safety_.” There was a pause of a few brief moments then the person continued speaking, “ _I did it. I'm a Jedi and I bombed the Temple and once I have confirmation that Ahsoka Tano has been released I will transmit the decryption sequence for the rest of this message at which point I will reveal who I am_ ”

Anakin paused the playback with a press of a button while Tarkin watched with incredulity. “You believe you are above the law, don't you, Skywalker?” he barked  
“Control yourself, Admiral” Palpatine replied  
“Yes, sir.” Tarkin bowed his head in submission  
“Continue” the Chancellor waved his hand in Tarkin's direction once he had apologized  
“That does nothing to prove Tano's innocence!” Tarkin continued speaking, his voice grating on Ahsoka's calm  
“Oh, I know” Anakin replied calmly. “However, the next part of the message might. I have not yet viewed it so I can prove I am indeed impartial. I was the one who asked that Ahsoka be taken into protective custody and she's not been on the planet since” he checked his chrono, “five hours ago, when she was rushed off to parts unknown. I found this device in my room at the Jedi Temple shortly beforehand and once I saw the contents, I immediately requested the protective custody”  
“You have no idea where your apprentice is, Master Skywalker?” Palpatine asked in a curious tone  
“No, Your Excellency”  
Ahsoka felt two distinct bursts of disappointment through the Force, “Very well, continue” Palpatine instructed  
“While I was on my way to this courtroom, this device beeped twice, I believe that was the decryption signal being received. I tried almost every decryption sequence in the Archives and the Grand Army's central core to try and crack this device but none of them worked” That was surprising, and it was clear Palpatine agreed with Ahsoka, both knew just how gifted Anakin was when it came to technology

Anakin unpaused the device and the symbol disappeared to be replaced with a hooded figure, a feminine figure. " _I did it_.” The figure declared with easily detectable pride, her voice still vocordered. “ _I did it because I've come to realize what many people in the Republic have come to realize—that the Jedi are the ones responsible for this War. That we've so lost our way that we have become villains in this conflict, that we are the ones that should be put on trial, all of us! And my attack on the Temple was an attack on what the Jedi have become: an army fighting for the dark side, fallen from the light that we once held so dear. This Republic is failing! It's only a matter of time..._ " The figure leaned forward slightly, clearly not done after her chilling declaration and her voice distracted Ahsoka from looking up at the assembled Jedi Masters who were, for once, looking distinctly uncomfortable. “ _I bombed the Temple, I attacked Ahsoka Tano on level 1315 after I led her there and almost killed Asajj Ventress to further implicate Ahsoka in the plot. The nanodroids I used to bomb the Temple are currently coursing through her body and the detonators are circling through the bodies of other Jedi_ ”  
Ahsoka’s eyes widened, she hadn't suspected that the very nanodroids that had been force-fed to Jackar Bowmani had also been lacing her own food. _What the kriff?_ She could also feel a dawning realization but hastily pushed it aside, she refused to believe what she was hearing. Ahsoka hadn't told anyone that she had help to find the warehouse so only she would be able to work out who was speaking  
“ _I have no idea which ones though, a safety precaution just in case I am caught before I can ensure Ahsoka's safety. So long as she doesn't go to the Jedi Temple or the courtroom, or anywhere near other Jedi, she will be unharmed_.” The holographic woman sighed deeply. “ _I was the one who snuck into the Grand Army base to kill Letta, I choked her to death and I later left a keycard for Ahsoka to use to escape, along with her lightsabers and I was the one who hacked apart those clones, they saw me which left me no choice but to eliminate them_ ”  
To say Ahsoka was horrified was an understatement, she knew she had been framed, but she hadn’t realized just how cold someone had to be able to do such acts. While she could sense there was more behind the calm, collected act of the woman, she knew the others probably wouldn't have sensed it. “She's right. The Jedi _are_ corrupted” Ahsoka admitted quietly, just as horrified by the realization as she was by the fact that someone had accused her of murder and terrorist attacks  
“ _Now it's time to reveal my true identity_ ” the terrorist declared. “ _Many of you will recognize me, I have helped a lot of you in the aftermath of the horrific battles that this war forced us into. As a healer, I've sworn to save lives, to never harm another yet this war, the ‘Clone Wars’._ ” The figure scoffed derisively, “ _This war turned us all into murderers regardless of our intentions. My name is Barriss Offee and I am the bomber_ ” the woman removed her hood at the same moment as she turned off her vocorder. “ _I have included my Jedi Ident Code to confirm my identity_ ”  
Ahsoka could hear Yoda in the background, speaking quietly “a traitor to the Order young Offee is, for revealing the existence of Ident Codes.” All Jedi had been given an Ident Code, a unique code to prove their identities that had, until Barriss decrypted the message, remained an absolute secret known only to the members of the High Council. Not even the Jedi out in the field had known that other Jedi also had ident codes  
“ _Finally, if Ahsoka is watching this, then she has to know how truly sorry I am. I shouldn't have ever framed her and I am so so sorry, while I cannot regret what I did I truly do regret framing her. She is totally innocent_ ”

*****

Padme was awoken by a terrible scream, a scream of pure anguish. The senator scrambled out of bed and sprinted for the origin of the scream, an origin that was easy enough to spot thanks to a hole in the wall and the remnants of a datapad strewn all over the hallway. _Oh kriff_  
“What happened?!” Padme was joined by another human woman who was just as worried by the shriek. It had felt as if the entire world was being rent apart, no doubt a side effect of whatever their young friend had felt  
“I have no idea, I'm just glad that she won't be alone”  
What was left of the datapad was caught in some kind of loop, the voice of the Chancellor repeating the same four words over and over again. “ _Find Ahsoka Tano innocent... Find Ahsoka Tano innocent... Find Ahsoka Tano innocent..._ ”  
“Oh kark” the third woman, a blue-skinned Pantoran muttered to herself.  
“I'm so glad you're here, Riyo. Ahsoka has a lot to come to terms with as a result of this!” Padme exclaimed, knocking aside what remained of the door.

*****

A young woman felt a wave of soothing calm attempt to break through the cloud of agony and despair that had surrounded her but she rejected said calm with a forceful and vicious thought aimed at the source of the comfort. She didn't want it, she wouldn't ever want it again. The woman hadn't believed the warning stories that existed in her culture but she was finding out first hand as to whether the stories were true or not. Had she been slightly more cognizant, she may have been horrified to learn that it was true, however at that time she wasn't all that aware of what was happening to her. All she wanted was to end her suffering, by any means necessary

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Riyo! You're not supposed to be in this chapter! Not supposed to resign from the Senate either but oh well
> 
> So that was a pretty heavy chapter, a lot happened and this was probably the longest individual chapter I've written so far. Fortunately Ahsoka has a few very close friends on Naboo to help her get through the trauma of betrayal
> 
> With regards to the Togrutii culture, I'm sorta winging it here. There's very little canon information regarding their culture except a few bits regarding Akul hunts, them being carnivorous (I assume that's canon?) and them being a social species so I get to do my favorite thing in writing stories; make shit up as I go along!! I hope my Togrutii lore is up to scratch, I guess I'm going to be creating whole parts of their culture...  
> Togrutii; plural of Togrutan  
> Togruti; the Togrutan language
> 
> Thanks for reading and I'll admit I'm eager to know what people think of this chapter, especially the lore parts!!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **  
>  "There is only death"   
>  **
> 
> **Ahsoka Tano betrayed!! The young ex Padawan of Anakin Skywalker is struggling with the truth of the situation. Ahsoka found out that Barriss Offee betrayed and framed her for the Temple bombing due to a holonet broadcast and is still in danger, her life is still at risk!**  
>  Now panicking, Padme Amidala and Riyo Chuchi scramble to attempt to find a way to save Ahsoka!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was so difficult to write!!
> 
> Without further ado, here's the new longest chapter I've ever written! (Over 6000 words!)

It was said that in Togrutii culture there was only one word for an individual that had been betrayed, and that word translated to literally mean 'better off dead’ in basic. The supposed myth that spawned that claim had been around ever since the first Offworlders had come into contact with the Shilian Tribes many years ago when legend had it that some Offworlder had betrayed the Princess of Shili and had resulted in the young woman killing herself as she was unable to live with the pain resulting from the betrayal. Like all myths, the true story had faded into obscurity at some point in the many thousands of years since Shili had first been explored by the Offworlders of the Republic, the loss of the history of the interactions between the Old Republic and Shili had only been hastened by the fact that the Togrutii culture was in its nature wary of outsiders and had been since the beginning, since long before the Jedi and Sith destroyed half the galaxy in their long and protracted wars yet there were still some historical references buried deep within the history held within the Senate Library but that was believed to be the only remnants of the records, the Jedi’s own records of that time were strongly believed to be incomplete, or even totally destroyed as a result of the loss of the Jedi Temple when it was attacked by Darth Malgus thousands of years ago, the attack had resulted in a lot of the Jedi Archives having been destroyed by the Sith and therefore lost for good. Shili was oft viewed as a backward world filled with poisonous savages that kept to themselves and as such very few people made an effort to go and get acquainted with their culture, perpetuating the myths and preventing the truth from getting out; that the sentient Togrutii were an incredibly intelligent, technologically capable race with a strong sense of community who merely chose not to live with technology in their lives as they wanted to stay true to nature and their traditions. The sentients of Shili arguably had a more moral society than any other in the galaxy since they did not allow any suffering in their communities and as such, any child who was orphaned or abandoned was always taken in by the Tribe due to the sense of shared, communal responsibility and if it was the latter, the abandoning parents were swiftly exiled for a parent abandoning their child was considered to be the absolute worst possible betrayal. Furthermore, slavery, even of Outsiders, was not tolerated in Togrutii society, to do so was considered an abhorrence and also ended in exile for the perpetrators.

Padme Amidala stood by the bed of a young Togruta who had collapsed upon the realization of the betrayal that her former best friend, Barriss Offee had wrought upon the young woman. The normally calm, collected Senator was panicking, she would later admit to _freaking the kark out_ to paraphrase her friend Riyo Chuchi who was herself muttering a string of expletives in her native language that would've made a Hutt embarrassed, had he understood the woman’s native Pantoran. “What in all the _hells_ is wrong with my _daughter_!?!” The distressed Senator shrieked, a clear and sudden swerve away from the normal behavior of such an esteemed Senator but nobody really noticed or cared that she'd lost all decorum under the circumstances. All her friends knew that she considered the young Togruta Ahsoka Tano a member of her family, along with her Master, Anakin Skywalker. Riyo even suspected something was going on between Padme and Anakin but had no proof beyond the intense stares the two were fond of giving each other, even in public  
“I was afraid of this” Padme’s handmaid and bodyguard Sabé muttered, gently shaking the orange-skinned young woman with a worried frown, “she's experiencing...” the young woman gulped and spoke again, awkwardly, haltingly and off on pronunciation, so much so that the words she attempted to say were so garbled but the trilling was unmistakeably of Togruti. “She was betrayed. Togruta do not do well upon being betrayed...”  
“But she was betrayed by the Jedi High Council days ago...” Padme interrupted, she had sent Sabé off to do research on Togrutii culture the moment Ahsoka was accused of murder for that managed to get out ever so quickly, the Admirals and Generals in the Grand Army were all rather embarrassed by how quickly leaks of Ahsoka's assumed crimes managed to get out into public knowledge and the resulting public outcry of support for the Hero With No Fear's Padawan was somewhat gratifying, though, in the end, it was pointless since Tarkin was relentless in his persecution of the wrong Jedi. It didn't make sense, why hadn’t Ahsoka collapsed upon the Jedi Order betrayal?  
“Yes but I expect you grow to expect that from those schutta” Riyo interrupted with a growl. If she had had it her way, if Riyo had known what they had done to her friend before the bombing she would’ve hoped and prayed that those fools on the High Council would've been the ones blown up by Barriss Offee instead of the hanger.  
“And aside from that, the betrayal Ahsoka experienced at the hands of Offee was on a deeply personal level” Sabé added, looking as if she had bitten into something exceedingly bitter upon saying the name of that traitor. That was important, a personal betrayal was all the more serious in Togruta, but that also raised uncomfortable questions about the exact nature of some of the Togrutan woman's friendships  
“I see...” Padme scratched her chin, deep in thought. _Does that mean there's more forbidden love in the Jedi Order than just Anakin and I?_  
“Aside from the High Council’s... _Questionable_ wisdom” Sabé spoke calmly, she had to remain calm otherwise they would all be freaking out. “I expect Ahsoka was too high on adrenalin to work out what happened.” She sighed, she still had one thing she had to relay to the others, arguably the worst piece of information. “It's actually a physiological reaction, unique to Togruta. It's not her choice to react like this...” The three women were simultaneously relieved yet also exceedingly worried, they were relieved that their presence wouldn't have ever been enough to stop it since they had all gotten worried that their presence wasn't enough to help Ahsoka but were also exceedingly concerned about it actually being real, physical and possibly life-threatening

“I need to speak to the Senator of Shili” Riyo and Padme realized at the same moment  
“We do need some input from someone who knows Togrutii culture and who knows about Togrutii medicine” Sabé acknowledged grudgingly, she hadn't wanted to call on outside assistance which would increase the danger they were all in  
“I'll do it” both senators spoke again, at the same moment.  
“I'd better do it” Riyo whispered, “it'll allow some plausible deniability to you sheltering her on Naboo”  
“I need to start the paperwork to adopt Ahsoka anyway” Padme added, pulling out several datapads. Since Ahsoka had been kicked out of the Jedi Order, the teenage Togruta had no legal standing, she wasn’t a citizen of the Galactic Republic and, had Padme not been willing to adopt her and therefore offering her Naboo citizenship, she would have been forced to apply for citizenship on her homeworld. Had she been refused citizenship by Shili, which was their right and a distinct possibility as she had been caught up in a terrorist plot despite being proven innocent, it could have resulted in many harsh and unpleasant situations for the young Togruta. Being a non-entity in the middle of a Galactic war could have resulted in Ahsoka being taken by slavers for the chances of anyone pursuing them to rescue her were exceedingly slim hence why Padme was in such a hurry to file the paperwork, it could have also had a negative impact on the young woman's ability to find herself employment. Being personal friends to the Queen of Naboo had its advantages and the Senator was certain her request to adopt the young ex-Jedi would be accepted and expedited

A few moments later Riyo had opened a comm to the Senator of Shili who, despite them being neutral in the war had been forced to become a Senator after the Confederacy of Independent Systems attempted to attack their colony again. The Confederacy’s attempts were quickly quashed by the Grand Army but one of the new laws implemented by Palpatine’s government allowed the Togruta a special ambassador in the Senate after the second attack and they had agreed. “Good morning, Senator” she spoke once she had been connected to the Senator’s office after a seemingly endless wait and after their comm signal was rerouted several times to various staff in the Senator's employ  
“Senator Chuchi” the Senator, an elderly Togruta by the name of Dalwush Teb replied calmly. “How may I be of service to one of Shili's champions in the Senate?” Riyo had been one of the first Senators to call to allow the Togruta some representation in the Senate and, along with her allies, Bail Organa and Padme Amidala, had been able to get the majority of Senators to agree to offer a place in the Galactic Senate  
“I'm sorry to contact you at such a busy time but... I need your help. I found a young female Togruta yesterday and she was talking of some betrayal.” Riyo didn't yet know whether Admiral Tarkin had given up on his persecution of Ahsoka Tano so she didn't want to name names and possibly put her at further risk. “She collapsed unexpectedly and seems to be in some form of medically unexplained comatose state” Riyo concluded, wincing as she didn't feel she had portrayed the urgency of the situation well enough  
“I see...” he spoke softly. “I'm so sorry that the poor child is going through that, it's a harrowing experience, especially for ones that are young” he replied, confirming their worst fear, that it was indeed a known phenomenon. He remained calm as he spoke  
“Can we do anything?” Riyo asked urgently  
“I'm sorry, I don't know. I'm aware of this condition but don't know all that much about it” he pressed a button on his desk, “if you bear with me, I'll see if I can get a Togrutii healer to contact you”  
“Thank you”

A half-hour later, Riyo’s comm pinged, Padme looked up and smiled a strained smile. She was hopeful that they could find the solution. She put aside her datapads as Riyo answered. “Senator Chuchi”  
“Ah, Senator.” A feminine voice replied, “my name is Etrel Zourm and senator Teb commed me regarding a young Togruta that you found whose slipped into a” she trilled a few times over the next few words, “or a sleep of betrayal”  
“That’s correct” Riyo nodded.  
“Then I'm sorry” Riyo lifted her head to gaze over at the other Senator who was still sat next to the sleeping Togruta who had gone rather pale at the healer's words and Riyo knew that her skin would also be incredibly pale, possibly even as pale as ice instead of the healthier dark blue. “There's nothing anyone can do for her medically. However, it is believed that, if you can find someone who loves her and obviously isn't the one who betrayed her, them talking to her and telling her they love her might help bring her back, but ultimately it's up to her”  
“Thank you!!” Riyo smiled and ran back to the bed, remotely ending the comm call

“Ahsoka... If you can hear us, if you can hear Riyo and me, we need you to know how much we both love you”  
“Yea, Ahsoka. We both love you so much, you're so important to us and we need you” Riyo affirmed as soon as Padme had stopped speaking

There was no reply to their pleas and suddenly Sabé began to panic. “I can't feel her heartbeat! She's not breathing!!”

*****

Yoda was walking down one of the many corridors in the Jedi Temple, he was heading toward his suite. The tiny Master Jedi had been feeling queasy ever since it had come out that Ahsoka was indeed innocent. The elder Grandmaster hadn’t been able to see through the Force that the young woman who was going to be executed had been innocent all along. He had even been forced to call an early recess in the Council meeting he had been attending due to a lack of clarity in the Force, a Council meeting that had originally been to attempt to figure out where the traitor Barriss Offee had run off to, she was wanted not only for the sedition against the Jedi Order, the murder of Letta Turmond and in excess of twenty others in a terroristic attack, the bombing of the Jedi Temple and the framing of a former Padawan for the crimes she committed but also for the traitorous act of revealing the existence of the Jedi Ident Codes, the last resort for Jedi who had to prove their identities if they were believed to be compromised. Other things on the agenda of that meeting also included discussion of the official resignation of one of the Jedi Order’s most promising Padawans, Ahsoka Tano who had been betrayed by not just Barriss Offee who had framed her but the Jedi Council as well as the Council had thrown Ahsoka to the Akul. He had just emerged from the turbolift that ascended directly to the Council chamber hundreds of meters above his head and was within a few feet of his suite when he suddenly felt even worse, a sensation not unlike something crushing his chest and a distinctive shortness of breath he remembered from when one of his many Padawans had died in his arms. “Oh no...” Yoda murmured, he instinctively followed the feelings to their source and found a young Togruta who was rapidly fading. “ _Ahsoka..._ ” he whispered, his ears drooping even further than they had since the bombing of the Temple and his eyes filling with tears. Yoda rarely questioned the Force but under those circumstances, he knew he had to. The diminutive green Jedi slowly extended his feelings out into the force once he was back in his meditation room, one of the multiple rooms in the suites afforded to each of the Masters on the High Council and the force immediately responded

Yoda found his eyes opening in a somewhat unfamiliar environment, the Turu-grass revealing it to be somewhere on Shili, homeworld of the Togruta species. “Hm, Shili this is.” He wasn’t surprised to be on Shili but the sights surrounding him did surprise him, he wondered just how far back in history he had ended up  
“Where is my beautiful girl?” some man, a green-skinned Twi'lek was approaching a woman clad in the voluminous dresses used by Shilian royalty eons ago, millennia before Yoda himself was born. The woman was clearly Togrutan, her skin was orange, her face had unfamiliar white markings and her lekku had blue and white stripes. The woman's montrals were as tall as if not taller than the Togrutan Jedi Master Shaak Ti’s  
“ _You!!!_ ” the woman shrieked at the man, both were seemingly unaware of Yoda's presence between them  
“Where is my sweetest?” the man asked  
“You!!” several Togruti swear words were spat in the man's general direction, her lekku squirming restlessly. “You _betrayed_ my daughter! You slept with another woman and impregnated her!!” The woman was so enraged that any attempt made by the man to speak were ignored.  
“Where is she?!” the man finally screamed over the woman  
“She's _dead_ you _bastard_!! You _betrayed_ her and it _killed_ her!!!”  
The man staggered back as if slapped and he fell to his knees as if punched in the gut. “No...” The man truly did love the woman but he hadn't thought of the consequences of what he was doing  
“Yes!! You killed her!! You murdered the woman you loved, my daughter, the Princess of Shili, by betraying her!!”  
Yoda closed his eyes in sorrow. None of that information was in the Jedi Archives, it had clearly been lost over the eons. _Our fault, young Tano's distress is. Betrayed her we did. Killed her we have_

The vision changed, the man was being dragged along in chains and was attempting to resist in any way he could but to no avail, he had been dragged into the forest that surrounded Corvala, the capital of Shili and was pushed into a cave by several guards. The man was incredibly reluctant to go in and a roar from inside the cave made it clear as to why. A few moments later there was a shriek of terror, the crunch of bones and then... Silence

Yoda returned to his body to find tears streaming down his face. “Betrayal, deadly to Togrutii it is” Yoda, in those moments, truly recognized the severity of his crimes against the young former Padawan who he, along with the other Masters on the Council, were at least partially responsible for her death after betraying her. “Sorry I am, young Ahsoka Tano. Forgive us you should not” he muttered, sitting down on his bed that had been designed to be level with the floor. “Need time to think I do, a way to honor her memory we must find”

*****

Katooni was stood in a training hall with her fellow Akul Clan members, a special Clan assembled from the surviving Younglings that had been helped by Ahsoka and consisted of O-Mer; a male Cerean, Jinx; a male Twi’lek, the human male; Petro, Katooni; a female Tholothian, Byph; a male Ithorian, Ganodi; a female Rodian, Zatt; the male Nautolan and Gungi, a male Wookiee. After a number of their original clans had been killed or assigned as Padawans, two former Younglings that had been taken by Trandoshans and forced to survive for several weeks while being hunted before being rescued and returned to the Jedi Temple had appealed to Master Yoda to create a new Initiate Clan, and were successful in doing so. The newly minted Akul Clan were allowed to attend more advanced classes as they had proven themselves under various difficult circumstances yet weren’t old enough to be chosen as Padawans. Kalifa, one of the Younglings that had been taken by the Trandoshans had used her dying breath to ask Ahsoka Tano to not allow the other two, O-Mer and Jinx, to give up hope or be killed by the Trandoshans and the two surviving Younglings were doing their part to fulfill that promise by creating the new Clan. O-Mer and Jinx joined Akul Clan since they were the only surviving members of their old Clan, the Seal Clan as the others had perished on Wasskah, the Trandoshans’ hunt moon. The Younglings were due to have lightsaber practice and were waiting for the arrival of the Knight who would be supervising their season. The Knight had arrived mere moments after all the Younglings cried out in distress and fell to the floor, the Younglings had been unable to interpret the agony they were feeling due to their young age and therefore passed out. The Knight ran forward to check on them, distressed by how they were just led there unconscious. “Uh... This is Knight Cere Junda... I'm in training room three-two-five and need immediate assistance. All the Younglings I'm supposed to be supervising have collapsed...”  
“This is Stass Allie, I'm on my way to you now” came the reply

Five minutes later, the Jedi Master Stass Allie, Chief Healer Vokara Che and several other healers entered the training hall to find a few of the Younglings had come round. Katooni, Ganodi and Jinx had regained consciousness and were immediately quizzed upon what happened  
“I dunno...” Katooni was considered by many to be the de facto leader of Akul Clan as she was the one who had gotten closest to their role model, Ahsoka Tano and therefore was often the one who spoke for the group using that confidence Ahsoka had helped her find by inspiring her during her Gathering, a Gathering that all bar two of their Clan had attended. “It kinda-sorta felt like a bright light was suddenly snuffed out” she explained, earning nods from the other conscious members of the Clan.  
“We felt a feeling of great loss, of intense remorse then I guess we fainted” Ganodi elaborated  
“Ahsoka...” Zatt groaned, sitting up. “It was _Ahsoka_ , she's... _gone_.” Gunji roared out a mournful grumble and roar. Zatt had been the first to put the puzzle together and work out just what had happened

The silence in the small group of Younglings lasted the rest of the day. The small Posse of Younglings simply sat in the training room, mourning the loss of their friend and hero

*****

Obi-Wan Kenobi was on board the _Negotiator_ , heading out to reinforce Jedi Master Aayla Secura when he felt a sharp jab of agony in his chest then a sudden overwhelming rage coming from somewhere. It wasn't originating from him or any of his men and he quickly realized it was coming from the training bond he shared with Anakin Skywalker. He sent curiosity down the bond and ended up getting a whole wave of the purest agony he had ever experienced

Ahsoka was gone. Ahsoka Tano was _dead_ and he had allowed the High Council to expel her and offer her up as a way of appeasing bloodthirsty animalistic admirals. Obi-Wan sprinted from the command deck to the nearest refresher where he promptly puked, all of this was _his_ fault.

“Sir?” a familiar voice asked. “Sir, are you okay?”  
Obi-Wan merely shook his head. He couldn't even bring himself to say it, to say that Ahsoka was dead would irrevocably harm the Troopers' moral and he couldn't bring himself to say it, not even to his loyal second-in-command, Cody

*****

Anakin Skywalker was sat in the center of his training room onboard the _Resolute_ , heading toward his next mission, but without his orange-skinned daughter by his side. All the remotes he had been using to take his mind off of the absence of his Padawan and daughter swirled around him as he sat quietly and fiddled with his lightsaber while he regained his breath from one of the most intense training sessions of his life. He felt the training bond that he and Ahsoka had mutually, wordlessly agreed to keep even though she left the Order suddenly snap on Ahsoka's side. The man let out an incomprehensible roar of rage and pain and leaped to his feet, turning the despair he felt into rage and used it to fuel his destructive impulses that were saturated in the darkness no Jedi should feel. All of the training remotes were destroyed in seconds and he ignited his lightsaber and went on a destructive rampage. Fortunately, no clones were nearby else he would have cut them down as efficiently as he had destroyed the training rooms, all the equipment was reduced to pieces of scrap and some of those pieces were still glowing slightly from the slashes of his lightsaber.

 _Chancellor Palpatine asked me to be patient in my pursuit of that fekking Offee bitch, I can't do that, not anymore. I'll kill her before Unduli gets within fifty light-years of her_. With those thoughts, Anakin stormed out of the training room and headed to the bridge where he planned to order a change in course, he was surrounded by a cloud of rage tangible enough that any living creature would be aware of it regardless of whether they were Force-sensitive or not. He would no longer be hampered in his pursuit of the traitor, not even the Jedi could stop him, he was _vengeance_.

*****

“Ahsoka! Ahsoka! Look at this!” a voice called out, muffled by the distance between the voice and the consciousness of the young woman. The young woman was floating free in a purely white environment, no longer aware of any of her physical senses and barely aware that the whiteness of her environment was slowly fading to black. She couldn't feel the soft bed she was led on, she hadn't seen the worried faces of her friends Padme Amidala and Riyo Chuchi, hadn't smelled their perfumes or the smell of the meditation candle that the unfamiliar voice had lit, could barely hear their voices. “Queen Neeyutnee has approved my request to adopt you!! Ahsoka, _please_ come back to us, I love you, my daughter” The voice barely reached the young Togruta and her mind was jumbled enough for it to hardly make any sense to her conscious mind

*****

A low, sinister chuckling emanated from the office of the Supreme Chancellor, the benign old man whose secret identity as the Sith Lord Darth Sidious was overjoyed at the loss of the annoying young Tano girl, she was a link to the light for his future apprentice and must therefore be eliminated in order to plunge his future apprentice into the welcoming darkness. He hadn't even had to do anything as the Jedi, in their ignorance, had done it all for him once again. He hadn't had any part in the bombing of the Jedi Temple, nor any part in persuading the pathetic lifeform responsible to frame Ahsoka Tano for it and therefore force her away from the Jedi and what he suspected to be the realization of who had betrayed her had finally finished that pathetic little child off. He didn't care at all about Offee and had even allowed Anakin Skywalker to hunt her down behind the Jedi’s back and to catch her before Luminara Unduli, the Offee girl’s former Master and the person assigned to hunt her down had a chance. He knew full well that Anakin would have felt the pathetic child’s death and that it would spur him into taking more drastic and ruthless action against his target. Palpatine calculated the chances of Anakin Skywalker not using lethal force against Offee had dropped from tiny to infinitesimal, and the darkness had already infected him to a somewhat surprising degree just from the death of the pathetic child he was coddling would have warmed the old man's heart, had he had one

*****

Barriss felt _sick_. She had not only been forcibly rejected when trying to help her best friend but she had also felt the shockwaves in the Force from her younger friend’s collapse and the realization of what she had done set in fully. She hadn't known that betrayal had such a detrimental effect on Togrutii, hadn't been aware that the physiological reaction caused by such a betrayal could kill them. She had felt the younger woman's shock and horror and then... Nothing. Barriss had attempted to find her friend in the Force and was starting to panic in earnest. She had been horrified to feel the last breath leave her friend’s lungs

 _I killed her..._ Barriss felt a hand on her shoulder, someone was attempting to talk to her but she couldn't hear a word, she felt the same as how Ahsoka had described explosions or even just thunder felt to her thanks to her super sensitive montrals. Her ears were ringing and her vision was slowly fading. The young Mirialan was a wanted fugitive in the Galactic Republic and therefore knew just how important it was for her not to collapse or pass out but she couldn't stop her body from doing the former and held little hope in stopping the latter. After several moments the young woman slowly managed to climb back onto her feet but that task alone felt like she was climbing every single stair in the High Council Tower, all those many thousands that had been included for emergencies and consequently she felt more winded than she had even been before. Instinctively she reached out to the Force to gain strength but somehow, something felt wrong. It took but a moment, though it was a moment too long, for the Mirialan to work out just what was wrong, then it hit her with more force than a Seppie missile launched from one of their Hellfire Droids. It was the Force. The Force was writhing, screaming and _out for blood_. That once peaceful energy field that blanketed the galaxy and allowed the Jedi to perform some truly amazing feats was suddenly all twisted around her, twisted by her very presence in the Force. Her healer mind immediately likened it to an allergic reaction, or a reaction to an infection but the only thing was, she realized with belated horror, that she was the allergen. _Oh no, please, no..._

Barriss reached out into the Force to try and sense those she cared about. Luminara Unduli was on the bridge of her Star Destroyer, the _Tranquility_ , calmly declaring orders to Gree and her other subordinates about some mission or another, the former Padawan didn't know nor care that her old Master was planning the hunt for her, she was just glad to see her. Ahsoka was laying on a bed in some unknown location, hooked up to various medical devices, one of which was showing a flat line. Barriss almost reached out to Tutso Mara but remembered he was one of those that had been killed by her own attack on the Jedi Temple and she was the sole survivor of her Initiate Clan. Back in those years, when she had been much younger and before she had been encouraged into becoming even more studious and devoted to her Jedi studies, she had been a lot more open to friendships and got along well with her fellow Initiates and also harbored secret jealousy toward Anakin Skywalker who, within days of being discovered, was made a Padawan even though he was only nine years old. She had also been startled to find out that Skywalker, a beacon to all that a Jedi should never be, _passionate_ , protective, biased and _angry_ , had been given a Padawan after he had been knighted without facing any of the trials and she had been somewhat cautious around young Ahsoka Tano as a result. Realizing that almost their entire lineage was unorthodox helped Barriss accept that they were treated differently from all the others. Master Dooku had left the order, Master Jinn was always at odds with the High Council all the way up to his death and often took great pleasure in disagreeing with them over many aspects of the force and the code, Master Kenobi had been knighted due to killing the first Sith in a thousand years, _Skywalker_ had been knighted due to the war and that led Barriss to wonder if, had Ahsoka not been rushed away, would she have been Knighted as a result of Barriss' treachery? _Probably_. Barriss concluded lightly, vaguely aware of several people stood around her, trying to talk to her and trying to see if she was okay. The young Mirialan was a refugee on a transport, blending in with the masses, just one amongst the many millions of people displaced by the Jedi’s war. She had received a few curious glances while on her way to the transport but had been left mostly alone. Barriss had spaced her lightsaber the moment Ahsoka and Padme disappeared off into hyperspace, she couldn't face her friend if said friend knew what she had done and had therefore waited as she knew full well that if Ahsoka caught her disposing of her lightsaber she would insist on trying to help, something that, like wielding a lightsaber, she didn't feel she deserved. Soon after spacing her lightsaber, she used the Force to mind trick a guy into removing her tattoos so that she would be more anonymous, just another Mirialan amongst billions of other sentients.

It was there one moment and _gone_ the next, just like Ahsoka’s life force had been there one moment and gone a second later. Barriss Offee reeled in shock as if she had lost an arm, one of her _senses_ , one she had used all her life, was gone. She had heard from Ahsoka what it was like to be cut off from the Force. First, a force-sensitive would develop a mild headache that would slowly ramp up to a migraine over several days, then, if the Force Inhibitors weren't removed the Jedi would start to lose control of their emotions and be prone to random emotional breakdowns, and finally, they would just stop functioning. They would end up totally catatonic. Ahsoka had not only seen it on one of her missions, how a young Jedi that had been kidnapped by the Separatists had slowly descended into her own mind but had experienced the first few stages for herself on Zygerria, the headache and the migraine and even the beginnings of the third stage, losing control of her emotions. What made that prospect even more daunting was that, as far as Barriss knew, that poor Padawan who had been subjected to weeks, months if not years of being inhibited was still in the Halls of Healing, still catatonic from the use of those drug-based Force Inhibitors. Therefore _terrified_ didn't quite do Barriss’ feelings justice, she didn't want to end up catatonic like Tiplar's former Padawan. Tiplar’s Padawan was a young female Anzat who had been taken without a trace and presumed dead until Ahsoka had discovered her in a Separatist outpost far from the front lines. The youngster, Fomlu was barely thirteen when she had been taken by the Separatists on one of her first missions, one of the earliest missions in the Clone Wars and the Jedi made no effort to find Fomlu due to their 'no attachment’ rule until Ahsoka had stumbled across her accidentally while in the pursuit of another objective almost two years later. Neither Barriss nor Ahsoka had met the youngster until she was essentially catatonic and being provided with nutrients through a tube, her mind shut down from being forcibly separated from one of her senses for so long. Barriss had been particularly horrified to learn just what the Separatists had done to her, they had surgically removed her proboscises, the tentacles all Anzati were born with in order to eat the brains of their natural prey, or that's what she thought at first. The Mirialan healer had later found out that the _Jedi_ had been the ones motivated by fear into performing the surgery to remove a part of the child's anatomy when she was still a Youngling and that had shaken the young woman's faith in the Jedi even more so than the war had. It wasn't widely known what had been done, a sure sign that the Jedi High Council knew that it was such a wrong thing, a disgraceful, disgusting thing to do to someone who couldn’t defend themselves in any way. The young Anzat, who was only a year or so older than Ahsoka was doomed to spend a lifetime craving the true sustenance of her species yet rather than being trained to go without and how to cope with the urges to eat the brains of sentients, she was mutilated before she had formed the ability to retain any memories by the oh so mighty Jedi Order. That was what pushed Barriss over the edge in the end, the war was the biggest problem facing the Jedi Order but if she could expose the Jedi for the warmongering hypocrites that they were, and therefore bring the end of the war, she had been sure that she could help bring about a change in the Jedi, so no more Force-sensitive children were ripped from their families by the Jedi, no more Anzati children would be mutilated by fearful ‘Masters’ and that the Jedi wouldn't become warriors instead of their true purpose, peacekeepers.

Barriss knew the truth though, the truth of the situation was that she had failed. She had failed in ending the war, she had failed to save other children from becoming soldiers, or being mutilated due to fear, she had failed to save the souls of all the Jedi, she had failed to save her friend Ahsoka. Finally, she had even failed to lift a bolt she had seen on the floor a short distance from where she was slumped against a wall, the Force really _had_ abandoned her

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone, thank you for the 1000 hits, the 31 kudos and all the kind comments!
> 
> You're all amazing. When I started this story a few months ago I never expected it to be this popular!
> 
> Getting this chapter up together was particularly difficult due to the fact that I'm having to create (almost(?)) all the Togrutii history and culture I've used in this chapter from scratch so I hope the result is up to my usual standard and that the whole cultural thing is at least believable. I'd love to hear what y'all think of this latest chapter, and what you think of the Togrutii history and culture I've created so far! Please review!! I live off of reviews and kudos!! Seeing what people think of my story makes my day.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ** May the Force be with you **
> 
> **Ahsoka Tano is dead!! After the shocking betrayal of Barriss Offee that almost resulted in her former best friend getting executed, Ahsoka Tano had an extreme adverse reaction to the betrayal and died in Padme's arms**  
>  Meanwhile, Barriss Offee's connection to the Force was severed by mysterious means

The ascent back to consciousness was one of the most exhausting things she had ever endured, not even her death on Mortis had been as bad for her as that, partly because she couldn't remember being infected by the dark side or subsequently getting killed but mostly because the Daughter's essence had vastly reduced the side effects the events had had on the Togruta. The white light that had surrounded her had almost entirely disappeared when suddenly she felt something pull on her consciousness, not toward the remaining spark of the once all-encompassing white light, the Force, she had reasoned, but upward instead, up toward an uncertain future, toward a semi-familiar voice her hypoxic brain couldn't figure out. It was so hard that the further up she dragged herself, the more she wanted to let go and fall back down toward the comforting light and the swirls of whatever it was that had surrounded her and spoke to her with distantly familiar voices but the harder she tried to just... Let go, the more she found herself unable to do so as the Togruta wasn't ever one to give up without a fight.

“ _My dearest child_ ” a voice spoke from somewhere in the void, the suddenness of the interruption enough to startle her into almost letting go and falling back to where she had started. The voice was close, as if it stood right next to her but she couldn't see the source and it was no more familiar than all the others to Ahsoka's muddled brain. “ _The Force has plans for you yet. You cannot, will not give in to your bodily failings, you must continue to fight or all will be lost. As you go forward, remember that the Force will be by your side, forever_ ”  
Buoyed by the words, the young woman continued her ascent with renewed determination, clambering up the proverbial rock face, back up toward consciousness in the absolute silence that had surrounded her since she had landed in wherever she was. Ahsoka let out a small cry of triumph as she finally reached the top of the proverbial rock face and a newly overwhelming light surrounded her but mostly came from above

*****

Riyo Chuchi, Padme Amidala and a half dozen others stood crowded around a bed where a pale, motionless young Togruta was peacefully led, her eyes closed and her heart silent. _No, Ahsoka_ Padme shook the young woman with despair  
“Time of death; oh-eight Forty-three” the cold voice of the med droid spoke and shattered all illusion that Ahsoka would be okay. Riyo sniffed and wrapped her arms around Padme while the others, Padme's handmaids, watched on in silent horror. They all knew of the young Togruta. Said Togruta had saved their Queen multiple times for in their mind, Padme was still the rightful Queen of Naboo. The people had wanted her to stay and had agreed to amend the Constitution to allow it, for Padme alone. Padme had decided on a different path but that didn't mean that those that served with her had stopped thinking of her as the rightful Queen  
“I'm sorry, Milady” Sabé, the lead handmaid spoke softly. The med droid had left them with the body since its programming instructed it to give the family of the deceased some privacy.  
“We feel grief too, Milady, can we suggest that you stay here for a few days to grieve the loss of your daughter?” One of the others stated  
“No... I-I’m needed back in Coruscant.” Padme whispered, her face pale and her eyes bloodshot  
“I will handle the funeral arrangements myself” Riyo spoke up, her voice thick from grief and her face soaked by tears.

Padme was just preparing to leave when a soft groan was the shock of their lives. “Was that you?” Riyo asked Padme  
“I was about to ask the same thing” the Senator replied, glancing around to see which of the handmaids had groaned  
Another groan and one of the handmaids cried out. “Senators!! Senators!!” Both women turned back toward their companions and their eyes widened. A pair of blue eyes had opened. It was just a crack and they were both glazed over as the young woman was barely with it but it was enough. An orange-skinned chest was rising and falling softly with faint, weak breaths  
“Ahsoka!!!” Riyo cried, rushing forward to help her friend and to reassure her as she woke up from almost dying  
“ _Ahsoka_!!” Padme sighed, wiping her eyes to try to hide that she had been crying even though everyone present had seen her tears, heard her desperate cries and her pleading with the dying woman  
“W-w-w-“ the Togruta attempted to speak, with difficulty. She was so weak she could barely open her mouth  
“Save your breath, Ahsoka” Padme soothed, her protective, motherly instincts kicking in with a vengeance and driving her to pick her up and protect the young woman from everyone save herself and so she did, she acted before rational thought could catch up with her and picked up the young woman, holding her to her chest protectively. “ _Back_!” Padme demanded with a bark at the realization that the others were getting too close to _her_ foundling. Had she had a blaster she definitely would have pulled out and aimed it at Sabé, at Dormé, at Karté, at the sisters Moteé and Ellé, at Riyo, and maybe even taken a few shots at them to keep her foundling safe. She would do _anything_ to protect her new daughter, that easily extended to killing anyone, or everyone in the room with her  
“Yes, Milady” one of the several women Padme had called upon to assist with Ahsoka’s rehabilitation into life outside the Jedi spoke calmly, gesturing just as calmly. The other handmaids followed her example and gestured instructions and let the overprotective mother have a moment with her daughter knowing full well that, despite not having the Force, Padme Amidala was a formidable woman and she would probably knock them all out if they were to get too close, anything to protect Ahsoka.  
“Padme” Riyo spoke calmly and without reproach from where she was stood by the door with the others. She couldn't blame the Senator for reacting the way she did, not after almost losing Ahsoka. The blue-skinned woman had always enjoyed the Togruta’s presence and her heart _ached_ so badly when that mournful monotone beeeeeeeep was the only sound in the room

Padme though had very few spare karks to give to anyone other than the young Togruta who had been through too much. “Ahsoka...” she mumbled, her eyes brimming with tears. “Ahsoka, you're okay. I'm here”  
“P-Padme?” the weakened Togruta mumbled, her eyes still glazed over from whatever had happened while she was between life and death.  
“I'm here, Ahsoka” she replied reassuringly.  
“Y-you said you are my mother now” it was phrased as a statement but still a question and it took a little while for the young adult to get her words out since she could still barely move her mouth  
_She heard_. Padme’s tears fell from her eyes unbidden. _In the name of the gods, she heard me_. The overprotective mother smiled through the tears cascading down her cheeks. “Yes. Yes, I am. I've been fighting for your citizenship ever since I heard that you needed protecting” The woman couldn't help but see the terrified child that the Togruta was instead of the warrior persona she usually projected. Padme had contacted all of her old handmaids to help her keep Ahsoka safe and while a number of them were there already, those ones that had either been on Naboo or with Padme on Coruscant, the others were off on other business but had confirmed they would all be arriving in a few short hours. Padme was aware that it would be one of the very few occasions where they would all be back together again and it wasn't that she wasn't looking forward to seeing Rabé, Eirtaé, Saché and, perhaps most importantly, Yané, the only licensed paraprofessional amongst them, she was just too focused on helping her daughter through it all. Yané had worked with vulnerable children before and therefore her involvement would be essential to help Ahsoka adjust to her new life and deal with the trauma of what her ex-best friend did to her. “You are my daughter and also a citizen of Naboo, Ahsoka _Amidala_ ”  
“I... Thank you” the Togruta was quiet, perhaps _too_ quiet but she was nervous, she didn't know how to even begin to attempt to say thank you for all the older human woman had done for her. How she had saved her life

“I can't wait to tell Ani the news” Padme mused after a few moments of quiet where she just held the softly breathing Togruta  
_Oh karrabast!! Anakin!!_ Ahsoka felt a chill across her body at the realization that their bond had snapped the moment she died, though she hadn't done it herself nor had she fully died, leading her to think that the Force was the one to do so, out of all the Force Bonds she had made the only one that remained in any semblance of existence was the one with Barriss. She could tell that the girl was still alive but that was it, the end of the Bond was at the heart of a void, not one that felt cold like Anakin had when he had been turned to the dark side by the Son’s machinations, but one that felt of _nothingness_. Anakin, Obi-Wan, Yoda, hells, even the Younglings of Akul Clan, all those bonds had been shredded. So many of those Younglings had competed for the attention of the Togrutan Padawan, eager to prove themselves and become her Padawan once she became a Knight and they had grown close to her since their gathering or since she rescued them from despair and certain death. “I don't think he knows I'm alive” Ahsoka whispered, too weak to even think about raising her voice  
“Wha...?” Padme had been married to a Jedi for as long as there had been a war on but even she barely comprehended some of the weird hokey religion’s finer points, she was firmly of the belief that you had to be one to be able to understand the Jedi and the Force, not that even the greatest Jedi were anywhere near understanding the will of the Force  
“I think the Force severed our Training Bond. Severed all my Bonds” Padme didn't need to know about some of them but she would still tell her about most, “my Bond with Anakin, one that I've had since I joined him on Christophsis... The one with Master Obi-Wan, the one with Master Yoda that I've had my entire life, the ones with Akul Clan... They're all gone” the young Togruta was panting by the time she finished speaking  
“I'll contact him and let him know” Padme reassured, resulting in Ahsoka shaking her head. “No?” she asked, worried and concerned  
“No, don't... Tell him when you see him next” she swallowed a few times and took deep labored breaths. Something was telling her that the more people that knew she survived, the more danger she would be in  
“I'm sorry I made you say all that” Padme whispered, resting her hand on the Togruta’s. “I won't tell Anakin til I see him.”

“You have to go soon, don't you?” Riyo spoke Ahsoka's unasked question and Ahsoka's relief at the sound of her friend’s voice was palpable to all who could sense the Force. They had only been sat around Ahsoka's bed for a couple hours when Riyo spoke, asking a question that definitely scared Ahsoka  
“Yea. I'll stay long enough to introduce you to all the others, 'Soka, but I need to return to the Senate”  
Ahsoka understood what her experiences meant, there wasn’t any reason for Padme to remain behind on Naboo since Ahsoka was no longer around. While her innocence was likely to be discussed to death by Holonet talking heads and while the Jedi would most likely decide to attempt to conceal the fact that their actions had killed her by pretending to the world that she was off on her own, she hoped the official reports of her death that would begin to make their rounds would be enough to head off anyone who would try to harm her, people like Tarkin. Despite understanding, she couldn't help but feel a little upset that her new mom would be leaving her. “But I promise they'll look after you”  
Sabé had warned Padme that, while Ahsoka might appear okay, she would most likely still be struggling for a long time and therefore they had made arrangements for her to be watched over. “I'll be here, Ahsoka” Riyo spoke up and took a brave step toward the overprotective mother and her daughter  
Padme tensed at Riyo’s approach but Ahsoka's bemused look at her action led her to relax. It was _Riyo_ , she had known Ahsoka for a good long while and Padme would have to leave Ahsoka in her care sooner or later. _Might as well start now_ Padme thought to herself

Several hours later Ahsoka was roused from her latest nap by a chime from the main entrance to the veritable mansion. “Wha...?” she still felt weaker than usual but less like she had gone a few rounds with a hungry rancor as she had the last time she had woken up from her fitful yet oddly restful sleep. When she had first woken up she felt as if she had been crushed by a Venator-Class, or maybe had to force her way out of a Sarlacc pit and had barely been able to hold her eyes open, each subsequent time she woke up she had felt a little more like herself  
She heard Padme's voice and slowly stood up from where she had been led, sitting on the edge of her bed before pushing herself upright with a little bit of difficulty, her eyes fell on a sleeping blue-skinned woman with light purple hair falling over her shoulders who was led next to her on the large bed. The blue-skinned woman had not been disturbed by the distant chime yet her montrals were sensitive enough to pick up the noise. “It’s wonderful to see y'all again” she spoke to what she assumed to be the other handmaids who were coming to help watch over her  
“Where is your daughter?” one of them asked  
“Ahsoka Amidala- _Skywalker_ is resting in my... Her room”  
“You chose to keep her old name?” another asked  
“Yea, her registration as a citizen of Naboo was purely internal, no need to broadcast to the galaxy that an orange-skinned Togruta joined the Nabooean population, just in case”

Their catch-up was interrupted by the door to the room sliding open, revealing the orange-skinned Togruta in light hospital scrubs. “Uh... Hello?”  
“Ahsoka! You should be resting!” Padme leaped to her feet and rushed to the Togruta's side to wrap a supportive arm around her  
“I'm okay... Mom”  
A collective gasp and Padme tearing up caused Ahsoka to whimper out an apology. Padme quickly shook her head, wiping her eyes. “No, no, don't be sorry, sweetie, my daughter. It's okay. These are tears of happiness, of relief. Cos even though I know I'm gonna be leaving you soon...”  
“In about twenty minutes” Riyo interrupted, she had gone over to Ahsoka's side and pulled her in for a hug, holdout blaster on her hip just in case someone came to hurt Ahsoka  
“Yea... Very soon” she sniffed. _I will not cry in front of Ahsoka. I will not cry in front of Ahsoka_. Padme sniffed and wrapped her arms around the younger woman, squeezing her as if her very life depended upon holding on to her. “Even though I'll be leaving, for now, I'll know that you're safe and that I'll be able to come back home to you once the current senatorial session is over”  
“Milady, it's time to go. We need to head back to Coruscant” a male voice spoke over an open comm  
“I'll be with you in a moment, Gregar” Padme replied as calmly as she could

Padme pulled the Togruta in for a huge, tight hug as the newly official mother said a teary-eyed goodbye to her daughter

*****

“Add Knight Tano to the Jedi Hall of Remembrance, we will. Saddens us, her loss does” the ancient Grand Master's ears dropped further, those that were close to Ahsoka had been summoned to the High Council chamber to attend a meeting to decide how to remember the lost Togrutan Jedi, one of only three active in the order at the time of her death, the other two Togrutii being Master Shaak Ti, and a tiny Youngling called Ashla. Yoda had called for a day of mourning upon feeling the young Togruta’s death, before the Younglings in Akul Clan, or worse, Anakin could reach the Council Chambers to demand that her death was mourned, they all lacked faith in the High Council after everything that had happened and Yoda had to admit he couldn't blame them. It was the day after Ahsoka's death and the High Council were feeling exceedingly guilty over her death  
"We made a dreadful, unforgivable mistake with Knight Tano" Tiin admitted quietly at a glare from Plo Koon, they had all agreed to posthumously Knight the deceased teenager yet Plo Koon was still having to glare at the other Masters on the High Council on occasion, if they were being particularly insensitive toward Ahsoka or those that knew her well  
"Knight Skywalker, Senator Amidala just landed in the hanger and..." Kenobi shook his head for Anakin had already left the Chambers at a sprint, he had already been struggling to hide his emotions and grief for his lost Padawan but on his way down to the hanger, he allowed his emotions to flow. "Nevermind..." The Master trailed off

*****

“Ani...” Padme stepped off her ship and pulled Anakin back into her ship, sealing it and telling Threepio to take off and head back to her apartment. Once in the air, she wiped her tears away  
“What happened, Padme...?” Anakin whined. “How _could_ she have _died_?” _I trusted you to keep her safe, Padme_  
“Ani, Ani...” Padme attempted to soothe, but fully aware that he wouldn't calm down until he was given the good news, Padme continued. “Ahsoka is still alive” Padme wrapped her hands around and Anakin's face  
“Fek. FEK. _FEK_!!” the distressed man kicked the wall several times, soon wincing as his belligerent behavior gave him no relief other than a few bruised toes. “I felt her _die_ , Padme!”  
“I know... Ahsoka wanted me to tell you she's still alive, but after all those awful things the Jedi Council did to her, she needs to be forgotten, out of the public eye, at least for a little while. Tomorrow I'll have to tell the Senate that Ahsoka Tano passed away, but first I needed you to know that she isn't dead, no matter what I say. I swear to you, I will always do what's best for Ahsoka Amidala-Skywalker, for _our_ daughter”  
Anakin Skywalker, the venerated Hero With No Fear burst into tears and hugged Padme tightly. He loved his wife an incalculable amount yet the amount still managed to increase exponentially after she had made that promise. A promise to protect his Snips.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **  
>  Miracles are not contrary to nature, but only contrary to what we know about nature   
>  **
> 
> ****
> 
> ****
> 
> **Ahsoka Tano is alive!! After very nearly dying as a result of a Togrutii physiological response to betrayal, a small miracle occurred. Ahsoka Tano was saved from certain death by her new adoptive mother, Padme Amidala!**  
>  Now facing the most important moments of her life, Padme Amidala has to convince everyone that Ahsoka Tano has died. On the other side of the galaxy, the Force hasn't yet finished making its displeasure known...

“Honorable Representatives of the Republic...” Padme Amidala, the Senator for Naboo activated her repulsorlift platform with a press of a button and the platform floated out to the open space within the building’s Senate Rotunda. She was sharing a pod with Anakin Skywalker, Captain Rex and Bail Organa, the latter of whom had been brought in as moral support for Padme as Anakin couldn't be affectionate in front of the whole senate. Bail Organa had a strong suspicion that Padme and Anakin had feelings for one another though he didn't truly know how far those feelings went, that Padme was married to Anakin. Riyo was no longer a Senator and had decided to stay on Naboo with Ahsoka regardless of the invitation  
“The Chair recognizes the Honorable Representative of the Sovereign System of Naboo” The Vice-Chancellor, Mas Amedda boomed. “Senator Amidala called this emergency session to discuss urgent matters of great importance to the Republic, and to her personally”  
“Thank you, Your Honor, I come before you bearing the most tragic of news. Former Padawan Ahsoka Tano passed away in the early morning two rotations ago.” She went on to explain that it had taken time for her to get back to Coruscant, time that she said she'd spent on Shili trying to locate the former Padawan’s family, unsuccessfully when she had in truth simply spent time with her not-so-dead adoptive Togrutan daughter. A lie, but one that was necessary to keep up the illusion that Ahsoka Tano was gone. Anakin was the only other one present who knew the truth, the three of them had decided, separately, that the Senate couldn't know the truth, else Ahsoka would be in danger of being pulled into another investigation, not even Palpatine could know. Furthermore, Anakin had insisted that the Jedi not be told, something that Padme had already decided along with Ahsoka herself. They had all been left with somewhat bitter tastes in their mouths due to the way that the Jedi Council had treated Ahsoka. Privately, Anakin thought it fitting that they wouldn't know of Ahsoka's survival when they had misled him with the whole Rako Hardeen incident, the Council and Obi-Wan had conspired to make his own Padawan think he had been murdered. Vengeance.

There were several whispered conversations occurring once Padme had spoken, revealing the reason she had called such an emergency session. Several conversations were between Senators that did not see why the Senator from Naboo called such a session over a traitor such as _Tano_ , they were firmly of the belief that she was wasting their time. Those senators believed that Tano was responsible for the bombing and the coconspirator, or possibly even innocent, Barriss Offee took the fall for her friend since she felt bad that Ahsoka faced the consequences alone, no matter what evidence had been presented, how Barriss had known things that nobody else had, that not even the Togrutan civilian had known. Those that believed Ahsoka to be guilty wouldn’t openly say that they were pleased that the former Padawan was dead but they would privately admit to being relieved that such a grave threat to their noble protectors could no longer cause problems for anyone. There was also an air of distrust in certain parts of the Senate Rotunda after Senator Riyo Chuchi had resigned in protest over the poor treatment of Ahsoka Tano, those that believed that the Togruta was a traitor also believed the Pantoran Senator was guilty by association and therefore the new Senator for Pantora, Chi Eekway Papanoida, daughter of the Chairman of Pantora was also under some suspicion by that faction of Senators. Others such as Bail Organa, Mon Mothma, Chi Eekway Papanoida and Lux Bonteri were horrified by the news that Ahsoka had passed away and immediately started to comm each other to discuss how they were going to deal with that turn of events. The vast majority of the Senators in the session were saddened by the news that Ahsoka had somehow died after being exonerated, for the evidence that had been brought to light resulting in Ahsoka being cleared was conclusive.

“What are you saying?!” Lott Dod, the Senator for the Trade Federation spoke up in outrage. “The Togruta was found guilty by any reasonable process of justice. The confession of Offee means nothing and was probably just a smokescreen! Besides, it didn't matter whether Offee, Tano or Secura are the guilty party! It was a Jedi who carried out an attack against the loyal, hard-working troops of this democracy! I therefore ask for a vote to end this emergency session until such a time as we have genuinely important business to attend to!!”  
“Found innocent, Young Knight Tano was” Yoda, who was stood in the Jedi’s pod, spoke up at long last in Padme's opinion. Where was his voice of reason when Ahsoka was being accused of murder, terrorism and sedition?!  
“ _Knight_ Tano?!” Dod roared. “You hear that?! They promoted the traitor!”  
“Ahsoka Tano would never betray anyone!” Lux Bonteri screamed at the Trade Federation Senator quickly flying into a blind rage at the words of the Neimoidian for he wouldn't publicly admit it but he found the Togruta very alluring. Ahsoka Tano had turned him back from his path of destruction when he was seeking out Death Watch for the revenge of his mother’s death and had helped save Onderon, his home planet, from continued subjugation by the evil Separatists that had already enslaved his home. That engagement had cost the life of the other person he was attracted to, Steela Gerrera, but he knew the Togruta had tried her hardest to save her. He privately found Ahsoka more attractive however he had subconsciously known that Ahsoka wouldn't ever choose him so he ended up falling for Steela as well

“Order, order!!” Amedda called. “We are not here to discuss whether Ahsoka Tano is innocent, or guilty”  
“Thank you, Your Honor” Padme spoke once Amedda had managed to get the Greedy Squabbling Delegates to be quiet.  
“You have the floor, Senator Amidala” Palpatine spoke for the first time in the session, his words were measured, calm  
“Thank you, Your Excellency. I want to spend a moment outlining my reasoning” she went quiet, gathering her thoughts. “I have had the honor of knowing Ahsoka Tano ever since she became my friend Master Skywalker’s Padawan, I have known Master Skywalker ever since the invasion of Naboo over a decade ago. Ahsoka was kind, she was fearless. She was fierce, loyal and fiercely loyal, always determined to protect others, determined to save the innocent and her own troops, where possible. I would have been honored to be her adoptive mother.”  
“But Ahsoka Tano is... was a Jedi...” a Senator that Padme wasn't familiar with spoke up  
“Not anymore. Ahsoka Tano’s last act was to leave the order. I have brought CT-7567 with me to testify as such. Rex, if you'd please?”  
“The exact words, Ma’am?” Rex inquired  
“The exact words, Rex” Padme confirmed  
“Very well. She asked me, in her own words, to tell those ‘ _fekking_ sleemos that she _quits_!’ She quitted the Order, no doubt because she felt betrayed, the Jedi did abandon her at the first sign of trouble and if I'm honest, I can’t blame her”

There were a few gasps at the use of the foul language, it wasn't often that the Legislative Wing of the Galactic Government heard such language, for even the Troopers minded their usually coarse tongues while around the governmental sector. Padme waited patiently for the murmurs to die out before speaking again. “So I don't know if she'd appreciate being referred to as a Jedi, and had she not passed, became one with the Force, I wouldn't have hesitated to adopt her. That had been my plan”  
“An honorific, it is”  
_Ah, the greeno sleemo speaks in her defense, at long last_. She used the derisive nickname that Ahsoka had thought up for the supposedly wise Jedi Master. Ahsoka had been exceptionally hurt that the Jedi had turned their backs on her, even though Barriss' betrayal was the thing that had triggered the physiological response that almost finished her off  
“A Jedi Knight, Young Tano always will be. Become one with the Force she has, felt it two rotations ago, we did, but inspired others she did. The whole of the Akul Clan of Younglings, saved every single one of them, she did”  
“Hm,” Padme hummed in thought. “While I question the Master Jedi's opinion on this matter, I won't argue against something that benefits Ahsoka Tano. I came here to request an official investigation into Ahsoka's death.” Instead of waiting for the murmurs to die down, Padme continued talking over them, “That would include how she was blamed for something that wasn't her doing. Again, Commander Rex of Torrent Company will elaborate...”  
“Thank you, Ma’am.” He nodded, the Trooper wasn't wearing his bucket so the earnestness was obvious for all to see, and it made Padme feel slightly guilty that she was deliberately hiding the truth from him along with everyone else, it felt horrible regardless of the necessity. “I first met Commander Tano, or is it General?” he asked turning back to Padme who shrugged. “Way before Senator Amidala here did. She was the most empathetic Commander any Trooper could hope to serve under. She's loyal, kind, and fiercely protective of her men. She wouldn't ever do anything to harm any of the Vod'e” he concluded with a scowl. “Y'all seriously misjudged her and y’all owe her your peace and prosperity that she bought for you with her tears, blood and _Force-damned_ life” the profanity was appropriate since he did tend to wonder _had_ Ahsoka been damned by the Force

The outcry was immediate and incredibly vocal. The Senators hadn't ever heard a clone speak that way toward anyone, clearly unaware of what went on in the barracks especially after Ahsoka Tano was wrongly accused, it had taken all of Generals Skywalker, Kenobi and Koon’s negotiating skills to stop the Troopers of the Five-Oh-First and Two-Twelfth marching on the Senate and the GAR headquarters. “Order! Order!!” Amedda bellowed over the Greedy Squabbling Delegates  
“Thank you, Senator Amidala” Palpatine spoke. “I have to admit I have my own misgivings about how this could’ve happened, how such an oversight could have been made. Was it our fault for appointing a Jedi to oversee an investigation into an attack on their own home? Were the Jedi eager to place the blame on someone who couldn't defend themselves? I, much to my shame, ignored young Tano’s pleas that she was innocent, and even those of her Master’s, my friend Anakin Skywalker. I guess I put my faith in the Jedi when I should’ve been protecting young Tano... Innocent until proven guilty, not guilty until proven innocent.” He spoke much to the agreement of most of the Senators present in the Rotunda, the statement being met by murmurs of agreement that developed into cheers. “Rest assured that we will be fully investigating these events to try and determine where we, as the government, went wrong and where the Jedi's blame was in all of this unpleasantness. Was traitor Offee truly to blame or is there something else going on? This isn't the first time this has happened, after all”

There were several murmurs, word had slipped out about another Jedi who had turned their back on the Republic the same way Offee had. General Pong Krell was not a subject that was discussed by the Jedi and they had attempted to keep it quiet though their efforts weren't at all successful. Privately, behind years worth of shields that he'd built up, Sheev Palpatine felt as if he wanted to get up and dance! The whole plan was coming together even better than he had ever hoped, he hadn't foreseen one of the most devout Jedi turning their back on the teachings of their disgusting Order, of their own volition no less, hadn't foreseen how their actions would take down Skywalker's annoying little brat of a Padawan with them, hadn't foreseen that Skywalker would do so much to save his Padawan, though he admitted seconds later that that didn't actually surprise him, what did surprise him though was how she’d died anyway, and how her death had opened the Order he hated so much up to further scrutiny, investigation and censorship. Yes, Sheev Palpatine did not really know the meaning of the word _happy_ , at least not until the calamitous series of events had led up to the conclusion that he hadn’t even had to engineer!!

“The Chair immediately moves to call for a vote on the matters discussed today” Mas Amedda boomed. “Senator Amidala made a formal request to seal this emergency session which we have provisionally approved since it would not be good to demoralize the troops further and destroy what little public faith remains in the Jedi Order. We have agreed to approve it, at least until the cause of Knight Tano’s death is found, after which we intend to reveal the truth to the Republic”

The votes came in promptly and as an overwhelming positive in favor of the investigation. In due course, the Senate would assign a task force to investigate the events that had occurred over the past few weeks but for the time being, the session would be treated as sealed, furthermore, Ahsoka was a child and therefore offered more protections by the law

*****

It only took five hours for the word of Ahsoka Tano's death to get out, even with all of the security measures in the Senate to prevent such a thing occurring, someone somewhere blabbed about the death of Ahsoka Tano and within two hours of the word getting out there was a massive crowd of people gathering outside the Jedi Temple, and even more gathering on worlds across the Republic, all yelling and chanting for their fallen hero, calling for a trial for the Jedi. They were calling for the capture and public execution of the traitor Barriss Offee who had dared frame the Padawan of the Hero With No Fear, the Padawan whose heroics had long been immortalized by multiple holobroadcasts that had followed the youngster and her Master, and even an episodic holoshow called ' _The Hero With No Fear_ ’ that had brought the heroic achievements and victories of Anakin Skywalker and his Padawan in a format accessible to children and adults alike. They called for the immediate exile of everyone who had a part in the sham trial that had almost cost Ahsoka her life; Tarkin, Commander Fox and even those on the Jedi High Council were subject to the demands of the majority of the protestors. They called for a state funeral for the young Togruta. Some even threatened riots if their terms were not met. Hundreds of groups consisting of many millions across thousands of worlds all declared their intention to support the motion for a state funeral, executions and exiles and therefore leading their Senators having to publicly declare their support for the motion. Senator Lux Bonteri was asked to officially bring the motion forward in lieu of Senator Amidala who had recused herself from leadership as she feared she could be seen as biased, with conflicting interests

*****

“ _Diya, blow the factory!_ ” The animated Anakin Skywalker called out from off-screen. Ahsoka rolled her eyes, the Togrutan teen never failed to find the holoshow that ‘followed’ her and Anakin’s adventures amusing, not least due to the legal reasons that prevented them from actually using her real name in the show, but also for the fact that it was so far from the truth of what had actually happened. In the show, Krell didn't go dark, Lux wasn’t shown to have a love interest in the animated Diya. Barriss didn't get taken over by a random brain parasite, in fact, there weren't really any appearances by the Mirialan that was supposed to be Barriss, even in the episodes where she had appeared previously. The broadcaster had cut her and had animated yet another Padawan to take the place of the traitorous Barriss Offee. It was the day of her funeral and as such, she had been stuck in Padme's ship on the furthest moon of Naboo since the middle of the previous week, since all the new arrivals on the planet put her in danger of being discovered.

The Togruta had spent a lot of her time watching the holonet with morbid interest, at how the population across the galaxy had risen up in protest against what had happened to her. Coruscant, Ryloth, Kashyyyk, Onderon, Shili, Naboo and that was just a small handful of the planets that had staged peaceful protests with regards to her situation. The former Jedi had become overwhelmed multiple times by the sight of all the millions, billions, possibly even trillions of individuals that had risen up in support of her after the truth had been revealed about her innocence. Even though she hadn't approved of some of the calls of violence that had accompanied the mostly peaceful protests, nor of what they had called for with regards to Barriss, she couldn't find it in herself to argue for the immediate exile of all those that had hurt her, or at least their removal from office. The young Togruta had been alternating between watching _The Hero with No Fear_ and various other holobroadcasts that were covering the build-up to the funeral. The holonet had been showing episodes back to back ever since Ahsoka's death became public knowledge and Ahsoka had missed a couple over the years, though she wished Anakin and Padme could be with her. As it was she was onboard one of the skiffs that Padme had been gifted at the end of her reign with several handmaids to keep her company. Anakin meanwhile was busy ignoring the Council and Obi-Wan, Padme was liaising with the Queen and her staff for the funeral and Riyo was back on Coruscant, ignoring the Jedi wherever possible and doing her bit to help liaise between the Senate and the Palace in Theed.

“I haven't seen Skyguy since before I was arrested” Ahsoka murmured to herself, not all that bothered if the handmaids listened in  
“I know... I'm sure he'll take some time off after the funeral”  
“I know he will, and I would actually pity the Council if they tried to stop him” Ahsoka agreed  
“He'd kick their asses, right?”  
“Right” Ahsoka replied absently and turned her attention back to the projected images. She was slumped on the bed she was using and wanted nothing more than to return to Padme’s mansion in the Lake Country. She found it incredibly disconcerting to be watching her own funeral, the Senate had spared no expense and the whole affair was incredibly fancy. Over the previous two weeks, she had given a fair amount of blood to ensure that the fake body would act as a fake body, so it would check out if it was to undergo blood-based DNA checks. It would be a state funeral that followed the traditions of the Naboo, the body was being taken through Theed in an open casket as she watched, heading toward its final destination along streets lined with people, broadcast droids watching on for all those billions of people who wouldn't fit in Theed, both on Naboo itself and across the wider Republic. Of those present at the crematorium itself, which would be a private venue for those close to the Togruta, only three knew the truth. Padme, who was stood amongst her family, tears staining her cheeks, Anakin, who stood to one side with Palpatine instead of with the Jedi high council who were all present, several Younglings and Padawans that had gotten close to the Togruta were present including the entirety of the Akul Clan, they were sequestered into the middle of the group of several of the command team representing the Five-oh-first and the Two-Twelfth, the two legions that Ahsoka had worked the closest with and Riyo who stood with some Senators that had gotten to know Ahsoka; Bail Organa, Mon Mothma and Lux Bonteri.

After a long procession that, to Ahsoka, never seemed to end, the casket eventually disappeared into the crematorium where the broadcast droids would not be allowed to follow. Instead, the droids roamed the air above the crowd, showing a city, a world, a galaxy in mourning. Ahsoka caught something out of the corner of her eye, a green-skinned face that shocked Ahsoka to the core.

Barriss Offee was at her funeral and an older green-skinned woman had already spotted her. Ahsoka watched with morbid interest, wondering what exactly would happen when the inevitable confrontation came to a head

*****

“Barriss Offee.” Barriss hadn't expected to hear _that_ voice, a voice that took her way back to happier times, times of tea, meditation and katas, or the humming of a lightsaber, or the click-whirr of priming blasters. “Stop. Stay where you are. Hands in the air and turn around, slowly” an older green-skinned woman demanded. “You are under arrest for murder, treason, sedition, conspiracy and terrorism. Keep your hands in the air, do not drop your hands toward your saber. If you do so I will be forced to kill you, _Traitor_ ” the last word was spat with unexpected venom that almost brought the younger Mirialan to tears. Had she still had the Force, she would've been able to prepare for her former Master's confrontation

Luminara Unduli looked toward her former Padawan with the utmost contempt. The younger woman had totally abandoned the code having lied, framed, murdered and conspired in an effort to bring down the Jedi along the path she had taken during her fall to the Dark Side and her best friend was the person who had almost taken the blame for the actions of another, of her own Padawan. The Mirialan Master found it exceptionally embarrassing to be in that situation, arresting her own Padawan, the very same woman she had raised since she was a teenager, but who had also caused Luminara to lose everything she had been working toward; her identity as a Jedi Master had been stripped from her and she couldn't ever take another Padawan as a result of Barriss' actions. “I’ve been ordered to take you in, but I have the authority to kill you, if you make it necessary”  
“I do not have any weapons” Barriss monotoned. She had just gone to Naboo to say goodbye to her friend, to apologize in private once everyone else had left, accordingly, she had arrived before the influx of mourners began and had been hiding in a hovel. It was just her abysmal luck and grief-induced stupidity that had conspired against her once again. _I shouldn't have ever left the hovel_  
“Good. Cuff her and take her away.” The usually calm Mirialan Knight snapped, “I don't want to see her face again until we reach Coruscant. Until she faces justice”

The Troopers gripped Barriss' arms, ignoring the way she flinched and gasped in pain, locked a pair of stun cuffs around her wrists, causing her to yelp again and pant loudly in pain and led her away toward the gunship they had arrived on. “Hey, Buzz?” the Trooper on the left of Barriss inquired of his Vod on the right once Luminara had disappeared into the distance. She wasn't planning on telling Skywalker she had apprehended the traitor because that would essentially be committing murder, something she couldn't possibly condone  
“Yes, Draa?” Buzz replied, tilting his head slightly  
“D’ya think the General will notice if we handed the traitor over to the Five-Oh-First for the hyperspace journey back to Coruscant? I suspect those Vod'e would probably enjoy using her as a punch bag for a couple hours after what she did to Commander Tano.”  
“Probably not. I heard the General was barred from ever taking another Padawan after The Traitor's actions and she's also not allowed to teach the Jetti Younglings. She must be feeling so distraught at what happened to the girl she raised” Buzz spoke as if Barriss wasn't even there, deliberately informing the younger Mirialan of the consequences of her actions. “She must be so angry as well, to have her future destroyed by someone she looked after for years...”  
“Heartbroken?” Drama suggested

“Buzz. Draa” a third nearly identical voice spoke, cutting through the two Troopers' important discussion about whether to follow their orders to the letter or to find leeway. Gree had joined them  
“Sir!” they both snapped to attention to the best of their ability while keeping Barriss under their control.  
“Well, well, well what do we have here?” Gree taunted the former Jedi. “The traitor who killed our brothers, and who tried to frame Rex's Commander...” he spoke, socking her in the gut without warning which resulted in Barriss falling to her knees with first a grunt and then a pained whine as both her shoulders were dislocated by the action. The Troopers were still holding her even as she fell forward to her knees.  
“Is she resisting, Commander?” Draa inquired neutrally, unfazed by the casual violence toward an unarmed prisoner  
“I believe she is, Draa,” Gree replied in a similarly disinterested tone. “She’s already bleeding anyway, nobody will notice more bruises.” The Trooper indicated the red patches beginning to show through Barriss' sleeves. “Take her to the brig and contact Lieutenant Joiner. Tell him we have a guest that’s caused his legion a lot of problems, he’ll understand” Gree concluded then left

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear
> 
> What's going to happen to our two girls now?!
> 
> Ps. Please welcome my 501st Clone OC; Lieutenant Joiner


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **  
>  "Tion'ad hukaat'kama?"   
>  **
> 
> **Shock of a lifetime!! The traitorous Barriss Offee was cornered at Ahsoka's funeral. The young woman was taken into custody by Jedi Master Luminara Unduli! Having been brutally beaten by the clones, Barriss Offee hovers on the verge of a coma.**  
>  Meanwhile, her best friend tries to make her family understand that she had seen Barriss at the funeral and that her former friend was in grave danger...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Mando'a in the summary means 'Who's watching your back?'

“But she _was_ here, Padme,” Ahsoka whispered. She had seen Barriss Offee at her funeral yet even several rotations later there had been no announcement on the Holonet that a dangerous fugitive her been captured or killed. She had become pretty sure she was the only person to have caught sight of Barriss in the footage, that she and Luminara were the only ones that knew that Barriss had been on Naboo. Padme hadn't allowed Ahsoka to return to her Lake Country residence until almost all of the well-wishers and mourners had left Naboo to go back to wherever they came from and the Togruta had just shared a tearful reunion with Riyo having just returned to Padme’s residence. Even days later there had been no word from the Jedi or the Republic that Barriss Offee had been arrested  
“Nonsense, Ahsoka.” Padme scolded, not wanting to indulge Ahsoka's wishful thinking. “She wouldn't be stupid enough to come to Naboo, _especially_ for your funeral.” She suspected it was a cruel thing to say but it was better to let Ahsoka down before she was disappointed  
“Maybe Ahsoka did see her? Though I'm pretty sure that they'd make a fanfare out of catching her” Riyo Chuchi offered.

Ahsoka went quiet briefly. Why wouldn't her friends believe her?! “Pretty sure Luminara caught her” a new voice spoke, all three of them startled at the words, they had not been expecting any visitors  
“Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker to see you, Senator, and Lady Amidala” one of the few handmaids that had chosen to stick around once Ahsoka was off of suicide watch spoke calmly, perhaps even in a friendly way toward their new arrival  
“Lady Amidala?” Ahsoka inquired with a confused frown, hardly aware of the consequences of her actions years before and even less aware that her former Master had just been announced by a handmaid  
“You didn't tell her yet, Milady?” the handmaid, Sabé, replied, turning to look at Ahsoka with a genuine heartfelt smile. “You are Lady Amidala” Riyo stood a short distance away trying, and failing, to keep her amusement under wraps  
“I am?” Ahsoka parroted blankly, shock oozing into the Force for those who could pick up on it. She hadn’t expected to be honored even more than having a multimillion credit state funeral  
“Yes, Ahsoka. Queen Neeyutnee wanted to honor you for your role in defending our home from the Blue Shadow Virus, and everything else you've done for the whole Republic... How you almost died many times defending the Republic...” Padme explained, “that and you're my adopted daughter and named as my heir” she concluded with a shrug. Titles were hereditary after all and Ahsoka had lost everything as a result of the Jedi being more willing to use her as a scapegoat than to seek the truth  
“I... Don't know what to say?” Ahsoka replied  
“Thank you” a new voice, one that Ahsoka knew well, spoke. Unbeknownst to her, it was the second time the man spoke

“SKYGUY!!” The Togruta screeched and launched herself at her former master, tearing up. She hadn't seen him since before she was arrested  
“Oooof” Anakin grunted, being hit by a one twenty-pound Togruta wasn’t an altogether pleasant experience but Anakin could forgive her considering everything that had happened “Hey, Snips. Or I guess I should call you Lady Ahsoka Amidala”  
“Snips will be fine, Skyguy” Ahsoka nudged him happily. She was so happy to finally be with those she loved  
“Okay...” Anakin nodded happily. “Well, I hate to break up this little family reunion, but we gotta get going.” He declared, continuing before anyone else had a chance to speak, Padme her concern and Ahsoka her shock. “Snips, I’m taking you to Ilum. I don't like the idea of you being unarmed, unable to protect yourself. We leave in ten minutes”  
“Okay?” Ahsoka replied. She never expected to have the chance to hold lightsabers ever again even if she did survive the plot on the Temple  
At the same moment, Padme replied. “Now hang on...”  
“Padme, please...” Anakin began. Padme may have been Ahsoka’s mom, but Ahsoka's Skyguy knew better than anyone else how much trouble Ahsoka usually landed herself in

*****

Anakin and Ahsoka left ten minutes later, leaping into hyperspace before they could be picked up by any of the planetary defenses and shooting off in a blast of pseudomotion. Six hours of meditation and pacing later, they dropped out of hyperspace over the icy world of Ilum. “You okay, Snips? Know what to do, right?” Anakin asked for the fifth time  
“Indeed. If there's any sign of any other Force user, run and hide in the deepest cave I can find.” Ahsoka replied with an eye roll. Skyguy's overprotectiveness was getting extremely annoying despite the Togruta’s understanding of why she needed to hide  
“You got it Snips,” Anakin nodded his approval happily, “remember that the crystal is the heart of the blade”  
“The heart is the crystal of the Jedi,” Ahsoka replied automatically, just happy to have the chance to own a kyber crystal again  
“The Jedi is the crystal of the Force,” Anakin stated with a proud grin. His Snippy little daughter had grown into such a strong, mature young woman  
“The Force is the blade of the heart.” Ahsoka reached out to grasp her master's hand  
“All are intertwined: the crystal, the blade, the Jedi. We are one.” They concluded together and then Ahsoka was gone, pulling on her heavy robes, barely breaking her stride to shatter the ice walls between herself and the Ilum Temple. Her signature in the Force thrummed with power

“May the Force be with you, Ahsoka Tano-Amidala-Skywalker” _What a mouthful_

*****

The Force guided Ahsoka down a seemingly endless series of convoluted paths through the caves, down so deep that the caves started to warm up again, the snow surrounding her lessening and lessening until it was merely water swirling around her feet and the walls started to glow. _Where am I?_ She asked herself, _I don't think anyone's ever been this far down..._

A few moments later, Ahsoka came across a corridor that reeked of darkness and the Force urged her to head down it regardless of her inhibitions for that place was, despite being surrounded by the pure force of trillions of kyber crystals, scarily dark.

******

“Master Skywalker?” The voice jolted Anakin out of his meditation, a meditation he had been engaged in ever since Ahsoka disappeared into the caves several hours beforehand  
_Oh karrabast_. Anakin thought. “Hey... Katooni, wasn't it?” he asked, trying to be polite despite his... Displeasure that a gathering was scheduled for that day, _cos of course there was!_  
“You remember me, Master?” Katooni gazed with wide eyes at the living legend sat before her, shocked to hear that he remembered her  
“Of course I do... You're a member of Akul Clan, right? You, Ganodi, Gunji, O-Mer, Jinx, Petro, Byph and Zatt”  
“Yes, Master. We're all of Akul Clan” she turned to gaze around at the rest of her companions. “We’re all here”  
“Why are you here, Skywalker?” Shaak Ti spoke from behind the Younglings having just stepped out of the blizzard raging on around the cave they were in, another, final young person hiding behind the Togrutan Master  
“I'm... Uh, here to honor my young Padawan” Anakin spoke his voice solemn and his head bowed in sorrow  
“Ah, getting a second lightsaber then?” It only took but a moment for Ti to determine the meaning of Anakin’s words. “I think there’s going to be a sharp rise in the number of Jar'Kai practitioners” she eyed the entire group of Younglings stood before her  
“You're all here to get a second lightsaber?” Anakin asked the assembled Younglings and the whole group nodded as one  
“Yes, Master Skywalker.” The Younglings replied as one  
“We all want to be like Knight Tano” Ganodi added

“I... I'm here to get my first” a small voice piped up from the back of the group. _Well, first in several years anyway_  
“Fomlu, is that you??” Anakin gasped, surprise and joy coloring his force-signature. The last he had heard, the young Anzat had been trapped in a coma since her rescue almost six months beforehand from overexposure to force-suppressant technology.  
“Yes, it is, I hear you're a Knight now, Master Skywalker?” the Anzat replied with a respectful bow. Anakin couldn't help but marvel at the differences between the late Tiplar's Padawan and his own 'late' Padawan  
“I am” Anakin confirmed with a characteristic smirk  
“And where’s Ahsoka?” Fomlu asked, eager to be reunited with her childhood friend. As an Anzat, she had been shunned by a lot of the Younglings and had been alone her entire childhood, at least until an overly eager, overenthusiastic orange-skinned Togruta had discovered her alone in some air duct beneath the Jedi Temple. They had both run away from their age-mates, one out of despair and misery, the other on a dare, at the same time and had randomly bumped into each other. They had been good friends ever since. Ahsoka had introduced Fomlu to the more fun, adventurous side of being a Youngling and they'd become quite close since  
“Fomlu, didn't you know?” Katooni asked quietly, gently resting her hand on the Anzati Padawan’s arm, her voice and Force presence filled with grief  
“Know what?” she asked, beginning to fear the possible answer. She couldn't just let that fear go into the Force no matter how much she wanted to, she was simply too scared of the Tholothian’s next few words.  
“Fomlu... Knight Ta... Ahsoka died. Her funeral was only a few rotations ago” She didn't mention that it was a state funeral, she sensed that would've only made Fomlu feel worse, that somehow she had missed _that_ news.

Fomlu fell to her knees, not only had her Master perished before she could see her again, but her childhood friend had also died. She had been aware of the former's death, but not the latter. “Ahsoka... She's gone?” The Anzat allowed the tears to fall at the news that the girl that had been her only friend in an otherwise lonely existence was gone forever  
Shaak Ti sighed, for the young Anzat had turned to her, desperately seeking reassurance that Ahsoka hadn't become one with the Force. “I'm afraid so”  
“No...” Fomlu whimpered  
“I know it's going to be little comfort, but why don't you join us in Akul, at least until you're cleared for duty and found a new Master?” Zatt asked, translating Gungi's guttural growls  
“Akul? Is that a Youngling Clan?”  
“Yea, it's our Youngling Clan. We've all been saved by, worked with, or both, Knight Tano, and a lot of us were hopeful that she would take us as her Padawan when she became a Knight. It’s been made an official Clan since Ahsoka's passing, in her honor. The Clan is specifically for Younglings with advanced skills or real-world experience”  
“How do I join?”  
“Ask Master Yoda, but you'd better do it quickly while he's feeling guilty over Knight Tano’s death” Katooni suggested  
“Clever, young Katooni” Shaak Ti piped up in mild amusement  
“Yes, Master Ti” Katooni had a cheeky smile on her lips as she bowed respectfully.  
“Well you young ones had better get going” The elder Togruta had given the children a small, encouraging push with the Force, encouraging them to step forward and accompany The Hero With No Fear into the Order’s most sacred site

Shaak Ti had felt Anakin Skywalker reach out for his Padawan as he set foot in the crystal caves  
only to recoil within himself when he doesn't get the expected response. She reasoned that he was still instinctively reaching out for the late Knight Tano having not fully accepted her death as of yet...

*****

Meanwhile, far beneath the surface of Ilum, in one of the deepest yet not darkest tunnels, Ahsoka Tano stepped into the darkness that seemed to have a hard edge and saw something frightening. She saw a young woman in a huge, oversized set of armor in a room made of nothing but metal. “Without the light of the Jedi, I have become the strongest Sith in all eternity” a wrinkled, croaky voice hissed from the throne before which the young woman was kneeling, the man's hood hid his face so she couldn't identify him, but suspected he was the supposedly mythical Darth Sidious Dooku had mentioned before the war began. “And you, my Apprentice, have raised a fine young Apprentice. Now, _First Sister_ ” The name was said mockingly, “Kill him!” The rest was last unsaid, the _kill him if you want to be worthy of anything more than the name of a slave_ was merely implied  
A giant in a black armor similar to the woman's looked at the hooded wrinkly figure in shock, his emotions were easily apparent through the Force, the only sound for a good few moments were his labored, mechanical breaths. “My Master?” the man who would stand at over two meters tall rumbled from where he kneeled next to the woman named First Sister  
“Kill him!!” the voice shrieked. “Or do you want to die, _First Sister_?” the older gentleman asked with a bit more of an edge to his voice but still took pleasure in mocking the woman  
“No, My Master.” First Sister replied, bowing her head then moving. Unencumbered by the heavy suit of armor the man wore, the woman was able to dodge all of the attacks that the machine made against her with the only background noise being that of the eerie cackling from the man on the throne and the sinister FSSSS PSHHH of the man in the suit. Both First Sister and the man were drawing heavily on the dark side to fuel their attacks, her attacks light, numerous and nimble while his were slower but stronger. Each of his strikes were enhanced by the artificial muscles in his artificial body

“First,” FSSSS PSHHH “Sister,” the man asked while in blade lock with his apprentice  
“Yes, My Lord?” she asked quietly  
“It is time” FSSSS PSHHH “to die” the man stated flatly

A pause of three seconds then the signature hum of lightsabers cut through the air once again. However, instead of clashing with each other, they moved toward the throne, slashing it apart leaving nothing more than the foul stench of ozone and a crumpled body

“Rise, _Saeydis_.” FSSSS PSHHH “Dark Lady of the Sith” The woman stood, she had been kneeling before the man whose pride had remained unspoken yet it was easily apparent to the observing Togruta who was appalled by the events she was watching. The Sith really were going to come back, and obviously would claw their way back to at least some power!  
“Yes.” Saeydis replied in a light tone. What's more, it didn't seem to be the usual one Master, one Apprentice deal but two equal partners if the lack of the words _My Master_ were anything to go by

“ _The_ Child will be here soon. They are corrupted by _Jedi_ such as Kenobi and Yoda” the man in the suit spoke, undisguised loathing in his tone at the mere mention of a Jedi  
“All Jedi must _DIE_ , Lord Vader.” Darth Saeydis hissed in her everlasting fury. “Only then will we be avenged. You. I. And Ahsoka Tano”  
Had it been anyone else talking about Ahsoka Tano, the man would have slaughtered them, but as it was he merely smiled behind his mask and spoke calmly. “Good. Goooooood. Now, come, Lady Saeydis, we only have a few hours before the Jedi arrives here and our revenge will be complete. Until then, we have a healing session, do we not?”  
“Strictly speaking, Lord Vader, it is called Dark Transfer. A technique that I, as an aspiring healer, perfected. Unfortunately, your Master wouldn't have ever allowed it”  
“Well, kriff him.” Vader looked back at what remained of the throne. “He is gone now”

Ahsoka Tano recoiled as the vision came to a close. Vader and Saeydis felt extremely familiar to her, Vader moreso. Then again she felt she hadn't known Saeydis as long as she had known Vader. Oddly enough she had more of a clue as to who Saeydis was than Vader, only one person Ahsoka Tano knew personally was a healer, and that was an individual who had already shown a stunning lack of respect toward life in order to 'save' her friend’s soul. Barriss Offee, member of the Jedi Order and traitor.

The Force was clearly trying to say something and she vowed to meditate on it once she arrived back on Naboo; she knew without further thought that it was saying 'Save the First Sister, save Barriss Offee’ but she had no idea how to go about doing so. The Togruta scooped up the crystals that the Force had led her to and turned back down the tunnel she had been coming down, magenta and yellow crystals thrumming in her hand. “I have to find Barriss. I might as well try to do some good along the way” Ahsoka didn't acknowledge it but she was terrified, Barriss was destined to fully fall and become a Sith?

*****

Ahsoka spent most of the journey back to Naboo meditating, other than the few minutes that Anakin spent inspecting his former Padawan’s new crystals, astounded. He hadn’t ever seen magenta crystals before. “They are very pretty, Ahsoka” Anakin whispered, rubbing his flesh and blood hand up and down her back comfortingly. He knew better than to ask what she had experienced in the caves, for that was between her and the Force, but he could provide comfort for whatever harrowing experience she had endured that had upset her.  
“I missed you, Skyguy” the Togruta mumbled, happy to be reunited with her Master, however temporarily, however dark the future seemed  
“I missed you too, Snips” he smiled at her, “Oh, by the way, I have something for you” he disappeared off into the cargo bay and retrieved it, handing it over to her as the Togruta's surprise colored the Force. “You're the rightful owner”

A few hours later found Ahsoka stood in the throne room in the Theed Palace. “With all due respect, Your Majesty, I need your help”  
“What can I do for you, how can I help Lady Amidala, the Hero of Naboo?”  
“I need a ship and a seasoned crew. A droid. A few fighters. I'll sort out the rest” Ahsoka replied. She had been told previously not to bother bowing before the Queen of Naboo  
“What-what do you have planned?” the Queen spluttered, forgoing caution in her shock, she believed that nobility was not really suited to leaving the planet but it was Ahsoka Tano, and that warranted an exception to all the usual rules of high society  
“I intend to help” she replied. If the Queen decided not to help her, she would use her own considerable credit reserves to purchase what she needed and obtain the rest through her contacts. She was certain that between Ventress and Anakin Skywalker she would be able to get what she needed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget to review! I'd love to know what people think, constructive criticism is welcomed


	10. Chapter 10

It took them about a month, all in, to get the different pieces of their puzzle up together.

Early on in the month, Riyo Chuchi had been sent off to Kuat in order to pick up the more... Conventional components that Ahsoka had wanted. The Pantoran had been bored almost to tears by the time that the Twi'lek salesperson stopped talking at her and she was finally able to find a quiet spot to comm Ahsoka and get further instructions, also intending to berate her friend for what she had done as she had knowingly set Riyo up to take the brunt of the boring sales pitches in her place even though the Pantoran realized it wouldn't be wise for Ahsoka to leave the safety of the Lake Country and the watchful gaze of one of the handmaids who had stuck around, just in case something happened to her. If a Togruta who looked a lot like Ahsoka started appearing, it would call into question the truth that they had allowed the entire public to believe. Between the breaches in Senate security and a number of grieving, traumatized Younglings, the Jedi had been forced to come clean about the death of Ahsoka Tano, accepting the blame for the death of the much-loved Padawan. Any appearances from Ahsoka or anyone that looked remotely like her would likely raise too many questions and risk drawing the attention of the very people who must not ever find out about Ahsoka's continued existence; the Jedi. They all knew the Jedi would have felt Ahsoka's death and therefore would have a vested interest in catching her to determine how she survived should she reveal herself, not to mention the probability that the Republic sleemo Admiral Tarkin would probably try and arrest her again. Besides, Ahsoka was supervising the most important part of their project; the assembly of their specialist starship.

“Thank you” Riyo nodded. She had landed as close to the headquarters of Ahsoka’s chosen starship manufacturer as possible and took an enclosed speeder from the port to the buildings. The Pantoran ex-Senator had been eager to get out of public areas because she had been a high-profile friend of Ahsoka's and had been the one who resigned in protest of how the Republic had treated Ahsoka. Riyo had met Ahsoka at some Senatorial function that they had both attended, Ahsoka as a Jedi bodyguard for Senator Amidala due to previous assassination attempts and Riyo as a Senator. Later that evening Padme had admitted that she had asked Ahsoka to be her bodyguard in the hope that she'd befriend the Pantoran as she needed more friends who were closer to her age, Ahsoka had become suspicious of the ulterior motive after Padme had told her to go enjoy the party soon after they arrived, insisting that she didn't actually need a bodyguard. The Togruta and Pantoran had become firm friends throughout that evening, sharing a love for meat dishes amongst other things  
“This is the best hyperdrive we have available, madam. It's a class one.” The salesperson interrupted Riyo's thoughts with their statement  
“I want something faster” she replied, unable to avoid feeling annoyed by the salesperson interrupting her thoughts, her memories of meeting Ahsoka, not that she knew she was interrupting.  
“That’s the best we can provide” she grumbled, beginning to get annoyed with the woman who obviously didn’t know anything about starships or hyperdrives  
“Very well” Riyo nodded, and the discussion moved on to other important areas such as shield generators. New, prototype technology allowed a much more powerful shield to be generated with a smaller generator, but the only problem was that it consumed a similar level of energy as a full-sized shield generator so was unviable on most smaller ships that didn't have high enough energy output and therefore the technology never went past the prototype stages, more an experiment to see if it could be done than an actual sellable product and as a result they were exceptionally expensive. Riyo checked the list that someone Ahsoka trusted put together, the individual in question was, according to Ahsoka, the best technician the galaxy had ever seen. According to the Togruta, they would be able to modify the hyperdrive to make it amongst the most powerful in the galaxy, a class point four, at a minimum, and would be able to modify the power cores of the ship to sustain the prototype shield generators and heavily modified hyperdrives. Riyo didn't have any further details but knew those heavily modified components wouldn't even be the ship’s piece de resistance.

“All these components are to be shipped to Coruscant” she was able to state, finally. They had spent a lot of time and credits to get the parts they needed for their ship and Riyo was looking forward to being able to hug her best friend again, and also looking forward to being able to dispel the fear that Ahsoka had done something stupid or dangerous while she was away. Ahsoka had been particularly clingy after Barriss’ betrayal but Riyo found she didn't mind too much, her best friend needed all the love that Riyo was happy to provide

*****

Several weeks after Riyo spoke to the Kuat representative on Kuat, a cloaked Anakin Skywalker was on Coruscant overseeing the loading of a freighter that would fly directly to Naboo, his face concealed by a dark black hood. Two heavily modified hyperdrives, six quad laser turrets, two heavily modified power cores and a prototype shield generator were loaded up into the freighter he had helped repair in exchange for the flight to Naboo. When he had asked for help ensuring Ahsoka's safety, the Force had led him far beneath the surface of Coruscant and to level 1313 and a badly damaged repair platform where he had met two sisters that were barely adults who had been working on a repair job ever since their parents had been killed. He offered to help them get their ship, the _Silver Angel_ up and running in exchange for the simple freight job in question. “Everything loaded?” He asked. Skywalker had scoffed at the name of the ship and had told the young girl that she should rethink that name  
“Yes, sir.” The pilot, Trace Martez replied. “Everything’s loaded up, except that crate there” she indicated the singular, sealed crate that could only be opened by one person  
“Good job, kids” he nodded, satisfied and helped the two girls push the last crate into the _Silver Angel_. “Better get moving” he added  
“Yes, Sir” Trace nodded. She and her sister, Rafa, headed up to the cockpit. They were on schedule and were being paid well to complete the job. _No questions asked_

*****

A week before the _Silver Angel_ was repaired and spaceworthy, the notorious former Sith Acolyte and assassin Asajj Ventress was stood atop the headquarters of the Grand Army of the Republic, her formfitting black body suit covering her from head to toe and a visor across her eyes. Her mission sounded simple yet was deceptively hard. She had been hired by someone, she didn't know for certain who as they had operated via proxy, a green and white astromech, to break into the headquarters and steal a piece of technology and the associated plans for it out from under the Republic's noses and to take it to a certain warehouse far beneath the surface of the planet. Sighing, the Dathomirian Nightsister dropped silently down the duct she had opened with the Force and landed softly somewhere in the bowels of the base. “Right. I gotta get this tech and get out, that's what I was hired to do. Not even gonna ask what Skywalker is up to...” She had been paid enough to not ask questions and to just do the job, though she did wonder where he had gotten the money to pay her.

The Nightsister crept through the corridors of the bowels of the base toward the design vault where the GAR kept all their secret blueprints, including the one she was looking for. Using the Force she opened the vault and quickly retrieved the necessary plans. She didn't look at the plans, there was no need for her to do so but her escape had to be hastened due to the risk of someone discovering her, she'd sensed someone heading down toward the vaults and had been told in no uncertain terms not to take any risks that could lead to her capture as not only would she be putting lives in danger, the man who had hired her wouldn't be able to help her should she get caught. She stuffed the drive with the blueprints on it into a bag on her back then started heading for the prototype lab where she knew a working prototype was being tested

“What the kriff, Skywalker...” she muttered once she'd shimmied out of the air conditioning duct she had crawled down. She hadn’t realized the piece of technology was almost twice as tall as she was, and the size would present a problem as it wouldn't fit in the duct. “ _Kark_ ”

Feeling betrayed, Ventress almost decided to flee until a memory of what Skywalker’s droid had told her; lives were in danger and while she wouldn't usually care, the unusual request and the urgency of the situation led her to one inescapable conclusion... It could only be Skywalker’s pet Padawan as he wouldn't go to such an extreme for anyone else, she was somehow still alive and needed the tech to stay safely out of the Republic's eye. The former assassin grumbled quietly and knocked open the vent she’d used to sneak in, slinking back toward the gigantic piece of technology, most of which was a projection array and opening it with the Force to pull out various components. She turned around and leaped through the open vent to escape moments before a scientist entered the room to run some tests on the device

Leaving the compound, Ventress sighed and snuck through the open area, dropping down through a hole in the sewers to escape

*****

By the time the freighter arrived on Naboo, having been directed to the Royal Palace, a small number of women were waiting to receive the shipment. Trace and Rafa stepped out onto the loading ramp, noting the sole human in the hanger was dressed in simple garb. The Pantoran and Togruta were dressed in overalls that hid everything they were wearing, but Trace still stared a bit at the orange-skinned Togruta, at least until Rafa nudged her. They were employers, not casual acquaintances. _Dammit_ Trace thought, but also noticed that her sister was also staring a little, at the orange-skinned Togruta's blue companion

“Hello there” the Togruta moved forward and held out a hand. “My name is Ahsoka and this is Riyo” she indicated the Pantoran, “and Sabé”  
“Nice to meet you too. I'm Rafa and this is my little sister Trace”  
“I hope Skyguy didn't give you too much bother” Ahsoka eyed their ship  
“Nah, General Skywalker was very friendly” _That_ had certainly been a surprise. The first time they'd taken the _Silver Angel_ out, for their flight to Naboo, Trace had accidentally crossed into a military flight path and much to their surprise they recognized the voice that had spoken over the comms, clearing them to continue. The man who had come to them and employed them for a covert supply run to Naboo was General Skywalker, no less  
“Huh. He was supposed to be subtle and avoid attracting attention to himself” the woman, Sabé, grumbled, as she and the others worked together to push the various crates out. _Then again_ , she reasoned, _it was Anakin Skywalker_  
“That's our shield generator” Ahsoka pointed at the near side of what looked to be a disassembled high-end starship, directing Rafa to push the crate closer to where the shield generator would be installed. “Hyperdrives go either side of the ship, Riyo, Trace” the girls pushed their crates to either side. “And I'll move this” she ran for it and gave it a shove with a sly grin.

“Oooooof” a muffled voice exclaimed. “ _TANO_!!!” the voice then shrieked, Startling Trace, Rafa, Sabé and Riyo  
“Yes?” Ahsoka asked, barely able to keep the amusement out of her voice  
“Get me out of this kriffing box! Also, congrats on surviving being declared legally dead...”  
“What are you doing here? You here to claim a bounty on me?” the orange-skinned Togruta asked of the box with an amused glance at the panicked expressions of both Riyo and Sabé, both of whom had drawn blasters  
“I just wanted to get off Coruscant and when Skywalker asked me to get the plans for this” she paused, patting the contents, “I saw a way out” the muffled feminine voice replied, “before any Jedi stumbled across me again”

Ahsoka nodded and Sabé and Riyo put their blasters away. The Togruta placed her hand on the biometric scanner and unlocked it. “The most important piece of kit for our ship” she explained, ignoring the Nightsister that crawled out  
“Nice to see you alive, and no longer Skywalker's little pet” the Nightsister snarked  
“Nice to see you too, hairless harpy” Ahsoka returned the snark  
“Hey! You can't call me that anymore!” she pointed to her head where sure enough, her hair had just started to grow out, a silvery color  
“No, but I can call you granny. How old are you, Ventress?” even Ahsoka knew that hair tended to only go white or silver in the later stages of life  
“I'm in my twenties!!!” Ventress snapped, as easily irritated as she had been when she was a Sith Acolyte

“Now, now you two” Sabé scolded after a few moments of glaring at each other. They were all on the same side after all  
“Anyway, how about you join us? It'll be a chance to kriff with Dooku’s plans” Ahsoka suggested to the Nightsister  
“I'm in. Don't have anything better to do anyway” Ventress readily agreed. As soon as she sensed Tano’s presence she knew that she would be planning something.  
“What are you planning?” Rafa asked. She and Trace had very little going their way in terms of a future so she wanted to see if they could find a future with the Togruta, Pantoran and Nightsister  
“We're going to go to different planets and take out as many droids as possible” Ahsoka replied  
“Need a pilot??” Rafa blurted  
“Trace!” Rafa hissed  
“What? We were both thinking it! We don't exactly have that much money, unless we were to go off shipping stuff which doesn't even pay all that well!”  
“Yes actually. We do.” The Pantoran interrupted, “We were going to share out piloting and stuff but it would be great to have an extra couple pairs of hands. We need a pilot and copilot but Ahsoka and Ventress could then take over during a battle scenario.” Riyo suggested to nods of agreement. “This was a J-Type diplomatic barge, it's being converted for our purposes.”  
Ahsoka led the women out of the hanger and to a speeder. “While the ship is being prepared, you can stay with us”

*****

The two Coruscanti sisters spent the weekend in more sumptuous comfort than they'd ever expected to experience. Ahsoka had explained that the place, the mansion really, that they were staying in belonged to her mother, the Senator of Naboo. Both Trace and Rafa took full advantage of the suite they'd chosen but it was over all too soon though Ahsoka promised regular leave for the entire group.

They returned to the hanger to find the ship ready to go, coated in the same chrome as the Royal Starships. “Hello, Ahsoka”  
“Your Highness” Ahsoka curtsied to the woman who spoke, followed quickly by the others who hadn't realized at first that they were in the presence of royalty  
“You don't have to bow to me, Lady Amidala” the Queen reiterated, earning a few raised eyebrows, even from the stoic Nightsister. “I hope you like your ship”  
“It looks wonderful” Ahsoka agreed. “Wasn't expecting the coating” The ship had received the same coating as the Royal Starships and those used by Padme, much to Ahsoka's surprise  
“You're a hero of Naboo, Ahsoka”  
Ahsoka nodded, she'd long since resigned herself to being the 'hero’ in the eyes of the Naboo. “Will there be room for all of us? Me and Riyo, Asajj, Trace and Rafa?”  
“Definitely. We did as you asked and removed the segregation between the crew and passenger sections, you all have cabins toward the back of the ship now and we added in all the mods you asked for and had shipped out to us. Three ventral and three dorsal weapons emplacements, four at the front and two at the back, the Hyperdrives are installed, as are the shield and cloaking generators”  
“Cloaking?” Trace asked  
“So that's what I was stealing from the Republic...” Ventress whispered. “Their stealth tech”  
Ahsoka and Riyo nodded. “And what of the EM bombs?”  
“Yes, everything is ready. They're essentially just scaled up droid poppers. You drop them on droid legions or shoot the ion cannons at ships then fly away in stealth mode. Ten shots should be enough to take out a separatist cruiser.”

Ahsoka grinned. After saying their goodbyes to the Queen, they’d taken a bit of time to customize the ship so it was more homely. Riyo had purchased a Pantoran figurine set. Ventress had added a Nightsister memorial, Trace and Rafa had gathered what personal belongings they’d taken with them and put most of them in their cabin as Ahsoka had promised they’d go to Coruscant first as a shakedown and pick up any personal items the sisters wanted and Ahsoka had constructed a lightsaber stand that could hold up to six lightsabers. Other than that the ship was mostly bare and functional. “This is the ship _Nebula_ to Theed Royal Palace, we’re ready for our flight to Coruscant”  
“This is Theed Flight Control, you're cleared to take off. Have a nice peaceful journey to Coruscant, My Lady”  
“Acknowledged. Let's get going, Trace” Ahsoka flicked a few controls, powering the ship before maneuvering it out and up into space. “Ready for hyperspace. Welcome home everyone” _Still, I wish Barriss could be here..._

Ahsoka and Riyo looked at each other and nodded. All five girls pushed the ship into hyperspace, together as one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a lot of problems writing this chapter. I knew where I wanted it to go, and I knew I needed to write this chapter to get where I was going but I didn't want it to be boring or appear as a wasted chapter. As such I had a lot of problems writing it.
> 
> Please leave feedback on this. Especially the name of Ahsoka's ship (yes, the name was chosen for a reason) and what you thought of this less action packed chapter
> 
> In other news, I've started writing Lost Days. It won't be ready for quite a while but I've started it!


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter!!!!
> 
> At long last...

The _Nebula_ jerked, coming out of hyperspace in a sudden pulse of pseudomotion at the same time an alarm sounded from the sealed cockpit area. Ahsoka emerged from one of the crew quarters with a huge yawn, dressed in no more than a vastly oversized shirt and a pair of shorts. The Togruta bumped into Rafa who was sharing a room with her sister and mumbled a 'good morning' to the human woman as the latter rubbed the sleep from her eyes and headed for the 'fresher

Almost as soon as they had taken off, Ahsoka had been told to go and get some rest by Riyo and, to everybody's surprise, she was backed up by Ventress who, despite professing her disdain for the Togruta, at every opportunity, had grown to reluctantly respect the teen that had survived the worst the Jedi could throw at her without succumbing to the dark side or ever losing her admittedly annoying sense of hope. Ahsoka had retreated into one of the cabins that had been closed off for privacy by retractable panels, Riyo following close behind. Ventress, Trace and Rafa had retired soon after, Trace and Rafa choosing to take the bunks in one cabin while Ventress had her own room. The living area had been designed to be flexible, allowing the occupants to sleep two to a room, use the space for training or socializing, or even for a group slumber party. Behind the living area and beyond another bulkhead were the droid popper racks that fed the bombing systems and the majority of the other combat-related systems that were going to be used to destroy what would hopefully soon be legions of battle droids. 

“Are we home already?” Trace mumbled, emerging from her room and falling in behind Ahsoka who led them to the cockpit, unlocking it with her handprint. For security reasons, only Riyo and Ahsoka herself had been registered on the security system and only Ahsoka could change any of it. Both Padme and Anakin had insisted on stringent security measures, especially as their daughter was likely going to search for the woman who had betrayed her and almost gotten her killed  
“Yeah. One maiden voyage to one of the vilest planets in the entire galaxy is completed” Once upon a time Ahsoka Tano found Coruscant breathtakingly beautiful, but that was before she ended up thousands of levels beneath the Jedi Temple, trying to survive in the squalor while being hunted by everyone she had once trusted. Hunted so she could be put to death. “Hoped not to see this accursed planet ever again” she grumbled.  
Trace was interrupted before she could reply, an automated message appearing on the screen, welcoming the _Silver Angel_ to Coruscanti airspace. Trace whistled quietly in admiration, it seemed General Skywalker hadn't skimped out on the tech on their ship, a signature modulator wasn't something that Trace could have ever predicted to ever see in her lifetime, the little piece of technology was so illegal that even the best bounty hunters had difficulty acquiring it. Of course, Ahsoka hadn't actually opened up about the capabilities of her ship either. “Do you know where we’re going?” she asked to get her mind off of the modulator  
“Oh, of course” Ahsoka stood up and gestured at the pilot’s seat, allowing Trace to sit and familiarize herself with the controls so she could bring it in to land on their landing platform. 

Twenty minutes later the ship touched down with a jolt, Trace wasn't really all that experienced with flying and the Nebula was particularly twitchy and sensitive to the lightest of touches of the pilot, the combination of which led to more of a jolt upon landing than they'd been expecting. “Hey!!” Ventress bellowed from somewhere in the living compartment, irritated at the somewhat bumpy landing. She had been just about to lift a spoonful of soup to her mouth and instead had the whole bowl’s contents splashed all down her tunic instead.  
Snickering and at least one of them being blissfully unaware of the risk they were taking by giggling at an angry former Sith assassin, Ahsoka and Trace started cycling down the engines and opening up the boarding ramp on the platform that had been extensively scanned upon approach. “Right, what do you and your sister...” Ahsoka was cut off by a call from the boarding ramp  
“You'd better get out here, Brat!” Ventress hollered unexpectedly

Annoyed beyond belief, Ahsoka huffed, grabbed her lightsabers from her quarters with the Force and made her way down the ramp. _What the kriff is it now!?_ She stopped dead as soon as her head was below the level of the ship. “Padme? Skyguy?” she whispered upon spotting the married couple in the hanger behind the landing platform. She hadn't seen either of them for over a month, not since Anakin took her to Ilum and not since Padme had been required to return to the Senate  
“Snips!” Anakin called, a wide grin on his face, happy she'd settled in to her new home  
“Ahsoka!” The two humans sprinted at and engulfed the young Togruta in an overwhelming hug while Ventress corralled the others back up into their ship with a small smile. She hadn't expected them to be so open with their affections even if she had been aware that they were close  
“Mom? Dad?” Ahsoka asked with a whisper, not daring to believe that they were really there, that even after all the problems she'd caused them, they would happily forgive her  
“We’re here, sweetie” Padme cooed at the teen, in a tone of voice she reserved solely for the girl who was her first daughter  
“I missed you two” she whispered, pulling them both in. “What are you doing here?”  
“The moment we heard the _Silver Angel_ was back, we came” Anakin offered  
“Imagine our surprise when the _Nebula_ came into land instead?” Padme scoffed and looked at the ship fondly  
“Our girl is about to head off to war on her own... We had to see you, especially after what happened on Ringo Vinda...”  
“What happened on Ringo Vinda?” Ahsoka asked with trepidation  
“Tiplar became one with the Force...”  
“Oh. Oh no, _poor_ Fomlu!” Ahsoka teared up at the thought of her friend losing her Master, again. That poor Anzat didn't seem to have much luck in the way of Masters; first, she'd been separated from Tiplar by an order from the High Council to join the traitorous Krell, then she was kidnapped and kept in a state of purgatory and had recovered only to find that both her Master, Tiplar, and her best friend had perished  
“I saw her while you were in the Ilum caves” Anakin added, in all honesty, the Anzat had been doing quite well, until she learned of Ahsoka’s 'death'  
“Can you...”  
“... Watch over her for you? Sure thing, Snips” Anakin nodded. He omitted the fact that the Temple rumor mill was alluding to Luminara Unduli having caught up with Barriss Offee and, if the dark look he shared with Padme was any indication, she thought it was for the best that they didn't break Ahsoka's hope for her former friend. 

“I'm going to be trying to find my old friend too” Ahsoka added after a moment or two of hesitation  
“Brat” Ventress rolled her eyes then turned to gaze at Anakin, the Nightsister's nickname clearly one of affection since Ahsoka merely ignored it. “She hasn’t stopped going on about saving Offee ever since she'd gotten back into space.” She narrowed her eyes and glared into Anakin’s, very clearly saying 'I'll kill you if you break her hope'. Ventress knew how hard it was to avoid being found when being pursued by both the Jedi and their Republic and the Sith and the CIS at the same time and therefore surmised that Barriss was most likely either captured by one side or the other, or dead. The dark looks shared only supported that theory. 

Beeep beeeeeep doo-boop! A domed tin can rolled out from nearby  
“Artooie!” Ahsoka exclaimed, throwing her not so stubby little arms around him, resting them on the top of his ambulatory struts. She'd missed that droid  
“Okay, Artoo. I know you're happy to see her again” Anakin chuckled fondly, that Artoo unit was perhaps his oldest friend!  
“We'd better head back, before Obi-Wan sends out the Two-Twelfth to hunt for Ani”  
“Okay, Padme, Skyguy. May the Force be with you”  
A few seconds passed then Anakin used the Force to pull Ahsoka into his arms, wrapping her up in a hug that was just right. It wasn't overwhelming like the Wookiees she'd met after saving Chewbacca and the other Jedi Younglings from the Trandoshans, it wasn't gentle yet choking like a young Twi'lek that had been found by Waxer and Boil who had wrapped her tiny arms around the Togruta’s neck and it wasn't frail like the weakened hug Padme had given her after the Blue Shadow Virus incident. Her Skyguy didn't give hugs very often so when he did, she cherished them. Padme joined in on the hug too and for just a few minutes they were the family they were always meant to be. Mother, Father, Daughter, and droid. Before long they were interrupted by a beeping

“Kenobi...” Anakin grunted in frustration. He’d left explicit instructions not to be disturbed.  
“Anakin, I know you can hear me” From what the others knew of Kenobi, there was a good chance exasperation wasn't the limit of what he was showing; he had more than likely facepalmed in exasperation too. “I can also sense you, what in the blazes are you doing that far from the Temple?”  
“Uh oh...”  
“It doesn't matter. We're needed on the front line, again. Without Master Unduli, the Siege on Onderon has been set back by weeks and the Council want us to shore up their defenses, at least until they can assign a new Jedi”  
“Another thing that traitor ruined” Anakin muttered, flicking the comm off with the Force. Master Unduli had not only been taken off active service, she'd been stripped of her rank of Master

A few seconds passed with Anakin just clinging on to his family for support, Ahsoka and Padme clinging just as tightly but eventually, they let go. “Never forget how proud I am, Snips” Anakin stated, resting his hand on her head. “My first and only ever Padawan” He wouldn't ever take another Padawan, to do so would feel like he was cheapening Ahsoka’s memory  
“Thank you, Skyguy, for everything. May the Force be with you, now and forever, Father”  
A few tears ran down Anakin's face, Padme speaking quietly to her. “You can stay at the Lake Country residence” she whispered. “Legally Sabè owns it, but that's just to cover up the fact that you're still alive, my daughter.” Padme kissed the Togruta and backed away

“Hey, Snips, one last thing. We’ve come to an agreement” Anakin stated softly, indicating himself and Padme. “Once the war is over I'll leave the Jedi Order and Padme will take a leave of absence from the Senate. We’ll both move to Naboo to be with you and we can be a real family together. Padme and I... We’re planning on trying for a kid once the war is over, you'll have a little brother or sister”  
Ahsoka’s mouth fell open and she charged wordlessly at the pair, grabbing them and simply refusing to let them go for a good half hour, no karks given for their obligations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay in posting
> 
> I couldn't get this chapter to a point where I felt it was complete, and I was struggling to find time to write as well.   
> I finally decided early this morning. Fuck it, I'd post what I had
> 
> Thanks for sticking with me while I had writer's block and a shitton of headaches

**Author's Note:**

> Please also check out the other story set in this 'verse: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24144097, it's a series of snapshots of events throughout the timeline from the viewpoints of other characters.


End file.
